Mind the poison
by Nuntis
Summary: Presumed dead in the Drum Island kingdom, the only apprentice of a poison expert Asa finds her life to be quite normal. However, her life takes an unexpected turn when she is threatened with death yet again and she has to save her neck by serving under a cruel pirate captain while pretending being a male. How long will it take for her secret to come out? Pairing is LawxOC
1. Sky boats

_**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, or any of it's characters that are included in my story. I don't own any possible music that may be posted here, I always write the artist or composer. I do, however own my OC's that appear in this story.  
**_

_**Mind the poison**_

**Chapter 1. Sky Boats  
**

_theme: Sumiregusa by Enya_

* * *

_Mono no aware_  
_ Murasaki iro no hana_  
_ Haru no hana_  
_ To fuyu mo koyuki_  
_ Harahara_

It was beautiful. The sky was absolutely stunning. The strings of light connecting together on the dark night sky, creating endless waves. Aurora borealis. Northern sky light. People used to call it the dance of spirits. Or the light of night gods. Gramps used to tell her stories about the gods and goddesses journeys through the night sky. She always sighed with longing when he told her about the boats that floated on the gentle waves of light, the boats carrying their masters from one end of the sky to another. It always took her breath away.

_Shizen no bi kana_  
_ Ah! Midori no ha to_  
_ Aki no iro_

Asa loved the state the land surrounding her was in. At complete peace. Frozen in time. Asleep. No words could possibly describe the way she felt right now. Her mind and body were finally allowed to rest. The winds were quiet, and the ground cold. Even if she would love laying down and falling asleep right there and now she knew very well how dangerous the cold could be. Especially when falling asleep. Her legs were numb and her whole body ached after walking without rest for almost two days straight. She couldn't allow to waste any more time standing in the cold. She had to move and find a decent shelter where she could finally rest after constant searching.

Asa was searching for Iceland moss, one of the few lichens that were actually edible. Small amounts of it's grains can be used as aperient. It was quite tasty in soups, as it soothed aching stomachs. It was not uncommon for folk on Drum Islands to have problems with their stomachs. They ate only when they had enough food. Food was something very valuable in these parts of the world.

The people on the Drum Islands lived in constant fear of even worse times coming so they always had food stocked and hidden somewhere for the so called desperate situations. It wasn't like Asa was starving. No, gramps made sure she got some food in herself everyday. He was probably the kindest man you would ever meet, Asa decided. He took her in as an apprentice when he found her at his doorsteps with only a note saying that her name was Asa. And that was it. Nothing more and nothing less and she liked that.

The old man was first not very thrilled with the idea of a small child running around his small hut while he would try to find cures for diseases. In fact, gramps was quite annoyed and irritated when Asa tried to form conversations with him. He snapped at her, or left her with angry remarks. But that only encouraged her more. Asa was determined to learn everything the older man had to offer and after a while she was catching up.

Even the old man had to admit, that she was a very hard working student. She certainly was very bright for her age, always curious and eager for more information. The Latin names that most youngsters in the medical field had trouble remembering were an easy task for Asa. Her memory was very good, and when combined with her fast thinking and ability to remain cool headed in tight situations were a proof that she could once exceed the best poison expert - gramps. She was only eighteen, soon to be nineteen. Gramps was very proud of his only apprentice, and viewed her as his own grandchild. He saved her life and she would forever be in his debt.

Asa sped up slightly. It was difficult to see in the dark, but she managed to notice a big rock that could provide her with the needed shelter. It didn't provide complete isolation from the wind, but she was still thankful. Asa opened her backpack with shaky hands, fingers numb from the cold and dug out her sleeping bag. She sighed in bliss as she lied down on the frozen ground in her comfortable sleeping back and was finally able to sleep. It was a nice experience. Falling asleep with a light display such as this over your head. And it was this time, when Asa decided that life was good.

* * *

The winds seemed to come to life the following morning. Asa was again reminded of the shelter the sturdy rock provided her that night and upon noticing that it was still dark outside she smiled in relief. Wapol was a taboo subject in the village. Gramps was one of the three lucky doctors that managed to avoid Wapols grasp. She was presumed to be dead in the kingdom. It was rather depressing, pretending to not exist. Asa was always thought, and cutting of any bonds she may have had wasn't difficult. It was for her own safety after all. She felt still bad for everybody that cried during the news of gramps only assistant dying. Wapol sickened her. Gramps forced her to create a new identity and she was no longer allowed to help him openly in public. She was now only sent on these kind of missions. Retrieving some sort of medical necessities. She didn't complain. As long as she still had something to do she was fine with it.

Gramps was presumed to be missing by the monarch. He was after all offering illegal help to citizens as the monarch choose to call it. Medical treatment was something you had to practically beg for in this country. Gramps was such a kind man, for risking his life and helping all the people. The people he helped knew of course how much he was risking by helping them so they never spoke of him, he was a secret that could not reach the king. They showed their gratitude with food. The old doctor refused to eat any food they gave him. He always said the same thing. "Just you eat the food children, you need it more than me." Her heart seemed to swell by just the thought of gramps. She would be forever thankful for his help trough her whole life.

Asa ate a piece of dried reindeer meat. It was too salty for her taste, but it contained the needed nourishment her body craved. After drinking a clunk of water from her favorite and only thermos Asa started her fast pace towards her goal. The moss she was supposed to find was a one day walk from her and gramps hiding place. She, however had to take the longer and more dangerous route there. Nobody traveled this way, and that was the only reason why she took this way in the first place. She could not afford being seen after all. Her being seen would cause not just her death, but death of many innocent citizens too. Asa hated this form of violence. She had no troubles with killing somebody like Wapol, who deserved death. But killing somebody innocent? Asa wasn't sure why killing and dying seemed to be on her mind more often and often as time went on. Gramps after all told her that killing is something that is expected when being a poison expert.

Being a poison expert was about much more than knowing few poisonous plants. Alchemy was the skill of combining multiple ingredients to reach the desired effect. Some mildly potent plants could be deadly when combined with another ingredient that increased their effects and vice-verse. You had to know exactly where to strike when opting for a smooth and fast death. However poison experts were also respected medics. They had to know the antidote to their poisons. Next came the knowledge of the human anatomy. You had to know exactly where to strike when opting for a smooth and fast death.

She was skilled with handling a dagger and senbons, her preferred choice of weapons. When going out on journeys like this one she always carried a small bow with her. It was necessary to know how to handle a weapon, gramps explained to her patiently one evening years ago. You can never be completely sure. He always told her when she was going out by herself. Now it well known in the whole kingdom. Sadly, attacks and rape was quite common in some parts of the country. Children didn't have an option to learn. There were no schools for the poor. Asa knew this, because she herself was very poor. Gramps thaught her everything she needed to know.

She heard some sort of bird shriek. Asa after seeing it from far identified it as a Gyrfalcon. It was hungry, searching for a possible prey while flying in circles. She raised her bow, just in case. Falcons were quite rare, and their feather were good paid for. She wasn't very good at handling the bow. Her archery skills were amateur, she was after all no hunter. But when she managed to hit something it was over. Her arrows were always dipped in Aconitum poison more widely known as Wolfsbane. With larger doses death was almost instant. The falcon was still too far away for her to actually having a chance shooting and hitting it. With a frown, Asa put down her bow, and put her nocked arrow in it's rightful place. She was no fool, when it came to knowing when to give up. Her practical thinking saved her life many times. It was time to continue her journey.

* * *

After what seemed to be several hours of walking, with only small breaks in between Asa still didn't have a glimpse of the desired plant. She was supposed to have found it yesterday already. This was bad, very bad. If she wouldn't find it before it was dark it would be too late. She didn't have enough food. And walking farther away in this cold with no food was suicidal. It was very bad. If not even the sturdy Iceland moss grew they were done for. Her only option was to actually find some food by herself. Asa looked around hopelessly in this cold wasteland. She had to hunt. She had to kill an animal if she wanted to survive.

It even started to snow. This was great, Asa sarcastic thoughts were the only companion she had right now. Snow was beautiful. but it was your enemy if you were trying to be as secret as possible. The snow showed ones footsteps. It was however good when she was hunting. Asa was quiet by nature. Her movements precise and careful. Gramps always compared her to cats when they hunted. The was her eyes lit up with excitement whenever searching for something was brought up. Asa loved riddles, her mind always eager for a small distraction. She handled her study with a similar approach. Asa was, however easily bored and dropped a task when it didn't interest her any more. When things really needed to be done, she was hard working. Asa was ambitious. A trait that gramps acknowledged. The many books about the human anatomy were never enough for her. She read about anything. The more the better was something she used to tell herself.

While still lost in her thoughts, she heard a wolf howl. Wolves rarely showed up in these colder parts of the island. The warmer parts (if you could call them that) were occupied by the citizens. The wolves had no option but to back off. Two grey wolves chased after a snow white rabbit. Asa grinned while nocking an arrow. This was her only chance, she could not afford to waste it.

The wind was harsher than before, blowing her dark hair in front of her eyes which left her unable to aim properly. Asas breathing grew steadier, her eyes narrowing into slits. The rabbit was closer now, about fifteen yards from her. The arrow flew, and embedded itself in the cold ground inches away from the rabbit. The rabbit, frightened changed it's direction of running completely, catching Asa of guard. The second arrow missed as well. The wolves howled, probably informing the rest of their pack to come over. Asa knew the more wolves, the smaller the chance was of her getting the rabbit. It was quite cruel thinking of life as a thing. Asa felt bad for the rabbit. It just happened to be here at the wrong time. Asa prayed to the gods of light that played on the sky last night. It was believed to be a good sign from gods after all. She had to hit the rabbit. The third arrow should hit the prey. But it didn't.

The wolves got the rabbit first. Asa was disappointed. Mutual understanding between animals was something she was fascinated with. The wolfes carried her prey away, while meeting up with other members from their pack. Asa knew how the wolf hierarchy worked. They would share the food.

So she started walking again. The Iceland moss was nowhere to be seen. And Asa was starting to loose her hope. It was getting dark outside, and she still hadn't found anything. Asa was a fast walker and she knew that she traveled a longer distance than most people could in this weather. It was no use running. The food gramps has packed down in her backpack was eaten, and there was no way she could hunt now in this dark. Her water supplies were almost at their limits too. She had would have no option but to eat snow. Eating snow was not good, and as a medic she knew the problems it could cause to her body. Desperate situations called for desperate measures. Asa was used to the constant feeling of not having enough to eat. She could walk with an empty stomach. She promised gramps that she would bring the moss to him. And when Asa promised something, she did it. It was dark now. To Asa's delight the light of gods was again visible. She thanked the gods for protecting her. In truth, Asa wasn't sure of the gods, but gramps always encouraged her to thank them so she did it to make him happy. It has become a habit since then.

She was walking even when her whole body screamed at her to rest. Asa grit her teeth and continued anyway. It was snowing heavily, and her boot clad feet were having it more difficult and difficult to walk with each step. Her whole body shook. Asa wasn't sure if it was from the overexertion or the cold. She was breathing trough her mouth. Gulping in the cold air that would make her throat sting the next day. As a medic she knew that her current condition was bad. Starved, cold and tired. It seemed that the small amount of warmth her body possessed was sucked out by the icy wind. Her skinny legs had trouble going trough the deep snow.

She was lucky for having longer limbs than most girls her age had. Asa was considered to be fairly tall in her hometown, Bighorn. She stood at five feet and eight inches, towering over other girls petite frames. On Drum Island, women were shorter, and unlike Asa their hair was often a lighter shade. Their eyes were often a lovely shade of light blue or grey. Asa's own hair was black and her eyes a common brown. Actually, Asa was many times mistaken for a boy. Gramps always told her to keep her hair shorter, so that it wouldn't get in her way. Asa being practical, listened to him and cut it always when it grew past her shoulders. With her taller stature, short hair, and no curves there was no surprise people thought that she was a boy. Asa was skinny, skinny to the point when she appeared to be unhealthily scrawny. Her being mistaken for a male was something she grew up with. Now, she was thankful for her long legs for the first time in her life.

If it was possible, the snow seemed to fall heavier and heavier. The white surrounding her was thick. Asa realized, that even if she did find the place where the moss gramps sent her after grew, she would never see it for the snow. It was absolutely hopeless. Asa felt like crying. A thing she hated to do, because it made her seem weak in front of others. It also angered her, because she seemed weak to herself. She had no food. She was freezing. She was exhausted. Her limbs felt like they would fall off. Every breath she drew burned her lungs and brought tears to her eyes. With one last look directed to the beautiful sky above her, Asa slumped into the snow. She didn't feel cold anymore. The pain seemed to dull. Asa knew that this was dangerous. As a medic she knew loosing consciousness in the snow was often fatal. But she couldn't find the strength inside her to care anymore. She had enough. Her eyes closed slowly. It was so peaceful.

The white tingled her eyes, the darkness softly laid on her skin. It was so quiet. Only the light on the sky was an indication of time. Asa was frozen. But she didn't mind the cold as it seeped under her skin. The warm ilumination on the sky caressed her worry with such gentleness. She didn't mind the poison it could bring. Asa only wanted to be at peace.

_Kaze no koe_  
_ Tori no saezuri_  
_ Kanashii umi_  
_ Yorokobino umi_  
_ Yama_  
_ Koishi_  
_ Ayamegusa_

And with the last words on her mind, she closed her eyes in the snow and listened for her heartbeat.

* * *

She woke up to feeling pain. With the unpleasant wake up call she got, Asa turned her head away from the light that pierced her eyes. She didn't remember anything right now. She only knew that her whole body felt like it was on fire. She groaned slightly, any other sound would pain her to greatly. After hearing her grunt, someones arms tried pulling her out of what the hell she was in that caused her such pain. After a second Asa fully realized that she was in a tub, filled with hot water and male was bathing her. She did the first thing that came to her mind at that moment.

With a shriek, she slapped the male and tried standing up and fleeing from this place. With no avail, her legs felt weak under her and Asa fell right on her bottom. "Easy now I just.." He tried calming her down, but she didn't let him finish his sentence.

Asa aggressively took hold of his neck, yanking him closer to her. He was quite young, perhaps a few years older than her. With his sandy hair and blue eyes he was the typical male from these Islands. He was slightly tanned, a fact that surprised her. You couldn't find many citizens who were tanned here at the Drum Islands. Asa herself had a snow white complexion. He was grinning sheepishly at her while mumbling about something. Only then did she notice that he was half naked, and what seemed to be a male coat was hung over her.

Asa felt a bit bad for slapping him. He was obviously trying to help her. She released his neck awkwardly while pulling the coat tighter around her. After the whole havoc she had caused fast footsteps were heard from outside. Asa panicked, she could not afford being seen by more people. One was already enough, she was supposed to be dead! She looked around for a place to hide herself in. She tried asking the man for help, but the soon realized that her voice didn't work. She tried mouthing "Help" to him, but he was too confused for actually understanding her. Asa felt like face palming, could this male get any more stupid?

After seeing that there was no way she would be escaping the bathtub she did the last thing she could do at this moment. Asa ducked her whole body underwater, trying to hide herself in the bubbles. That Idiot seemed to be amused as he chuckled.

Asa was seriously considering smacking him again. The person came into the bathroom. Asa held her breath in the water, praying that the person wouldn't notice her, or question that male sitting by the tub. Relief washed over Asa as she heard the voice of the person.

It was gramps. She immediately emerged from the warm water and looked at her beloved guardian. Any trust issues she may have had for the man sitting beside her were lost now. If gramps trusted him, so did she.

She tried talking, bit her throat still hurt. Asa instead only smiled, her whole body relaxing at the sight of gramps. He also smiled at her, his smile glinting up his pale blue eyes that always seemed to twinkle around her. Asa liked his eyes very much.

But then Asa finally remembered. She was supposed to have found the moss that gramps sent her after. Why was she in this bathtub instead, with a strange male looking after her? Why did the water prickle her skin so much?

As if reading her mind gramps spoke, his smile fading. "Aster found you unconscious in the snow, several kilometres away where you were supposed to be."

Asas eyes widened slightly. What was she thinking, allowing herself to lie in the snow? Her memories were blurry. She only remembered that she was searching for the plant, trying to hunt, being hungry and cold. So cold.

"You could have died from hypothermia, Asa." Gramps continued his eyes not twinkling anymore. He was disappointed in her. Asa turned her head away, she hated it when gramps scolded her. Was he angry that she didn't find the moss?

"Asa, look at me." Her mentor ordered. Asa didn't dare disobey him, so she turned her head slowly meeting his blue eyes. What she saw in them shocked her. He wasn't angry or disappointed. Gramps was worried about her. And that was even worse. She didn't want to be a burden to him.

Small drops of tears formed in her eyes. Asa cried very rarely. She was quite a prideful individual who hated showing any form of weakness. It seemed like she still was too weak for being his apprentice. Gramps stepped closer to her smiling and patting her head gently, just like he used to do when she was smaller and she answered wrong.

"It was a huge storm, nobody could have predicted it coming. I was lucky to have found you there lying half dead in the snow." The blond male, who's name was Aster as Asa recalled spoke to her. He was trying to comfort her, but it only made Asa even more sad.

She was very good when it came to noticing whether changes, how come she didn't see the storm coming? "Aster carried you first to our hideout, but we decided to come to his house instead, it was the safest option right now." He explained to her patiently. "You should have turned around after searching for the moss for three days with no avail." Gramps scolded her slightly, still worried about her well being. "You know how I hate it when you push yourself past your limits every time. You went too far while searching."

"But that moss was nowhere to be found!" Asa explained fiercely, her brows furrowed. "I promised you that I would bring it to you." Her voice cracked at the end, as a tear fell down her cheek. She turned her head again away from him and Aster who was again seemed to be at a loss of what to do. His eyes were darting between the crying female and the old man. Aster wasn't very good at reading people. He definitely didn't know it would be this difficult for a girl to accept getting saved by a young (and in his opinion) handsome man.

In his fantasy, Aster was secretly hoping that the young woman that he carried to the old doctors hut would give him a kiss in gratitude for saving her. His reward was instead a slap and a a sore neck. Now, when Aster looked at her, she wasn't the typical girl that you would find in these lands. She was taller than most girls here and extremely thin. He noticed that while carrying her light form. She was dark haired, with short choppy hair that ended an inch or so below her chin. Her eyes were quite wide, a dark sparkly brown that was also not seen often here.

She was rather cute, he decided after seeing her face flushed in embarrassment. Aster realized that he would not get any kiss from this girl in any near future. She was too proud for that, with the personality he witnessed so far, she was not a girl to be taken lightly. He sighed. It seemed like he had no luck in women after all.

Asa was no longer crying, her eyes still red and puffy from the stinging tears. Gramps repeatedly told her that her life was more precious to him than a moss would ever be. She still cursed herself in her mind, for not trying harder.

Now was the time for the real question, how did Aster find her in the middle of nowhere during a storm? And how did he manage to carry her to his home so quickly? She was just about to ask him that, when gramps cut her off. "Asa, there is something more important happening right now." He was talking faster, like he was rushing somewhere. Asa tried interrupting him and asking him, what was wrong, but he raised a hand signaling that she should let him speak now without any interruption. Asa reluctantly complied, the wheels in her head spinning wildly as always when a new unanswered question came up.

"Wapol has found me, and his men are after me right now." Asa gasped in horror. How could that have happened? They were perfectly hidden, always changing their hideouts after two weeks. The people that gramps helped swore on their lives that they wouldn't stutter a word about him, his whereabouts. His life depended on those promises.

It now seemed that they were empty promises. Her eyes darkened. Somebody betrayed them.

"I do not blame them for telling Wapol where I was. It was a woman who's children were threatened with death. She had no choice, I would have done the same." Asa still didn't forgive the woman, in her eyes she was still a traitor. Bu the anger softened a bit when thinking about tear stricken faces of small children, and a mother begging the soldiers to not harm them. Her anger was directed towards Wapol. That fat, disgusting king that caused all the reasons for people feeling sadness and fear.

Why was this happening now? When everything went smoothly for so many years. Gramps smiled sadly. "What I wanted to say, Asa was that you have to get away from this Island." Get away? The only way to get away was to set sail, and travel on a boat. People were not allowed to leave the kingdom, only if they practically begged the king for permission. Gramps and Asa, however had contacts such as people from different Islands that could stock them on medical plants that couldn't be found in this could climate. The so called smugglers.

Most of them were strange people. Not very trustworthy in Asa's eyes, but they kept they mouth shut as long as they got paid well, or gramps treated one of their wounds. But the thought of abandoning her mentor in this situation was unthinkable to her. Gramps seemed to know what she was thinking as always, as he patted her head again and smiled widely, trying to reassure her. It was a hopeless task.

Asa was as stubborn as a mule. She wouldn't leave Gramps alone, no matter what. They could kill her along with him, she would protect him even if he didn't want to.

"Wait hold on a sec, you plan on leaving this Island...unseen on a ship?" Aster interrupter his eyes wide with confusion. To Asa it seemed like he was always a step behind. "No, I won't leave you!" She objected her eyes holding a silent plea.

"And who do you think will continue with treating poisonings when both of us are dead?" Asa had no answer to that. It was true, he had told her many times about how old he was. Hinting that his death might come soon and in that case she would continue with treating patients just like he did. Asa drew in a deep breath. She could do this.

She was quite sure that Wapol wouldn't kill Gramps after finding him. He was too valuable for that. She just had to hope that Gramps would outsmart Wapol in some way and turn the tables to his own favor.

"Because in that case, I just know a ship that you could get on board." Aster said with grin directed into her direction. He knows a ship? Here? Asa may have underestimated this man after all.

"A good friend of mine works there as a mechanic, I'm quite smooth with words so it wouldn't be too difficult for me to convince him." He boasted slightly. He could have fooled her, about being smooth with words. Asa almost snorted when hearing that comment.

"All I would have to say is that you are the famous Anderrns apprentice and you'll be a member before saying ´snow´." Asa disagreed quickly. She couldn't say that she was the only apprentice of the best poison expert. They could sell her to Wapol, or blackmail somebody or something like that. Who hell knew what thoose "friends" of Aster might do. Asa had trust issues for many reasons. Why should she trust some guys who she didn't even meet and was supposed to sail with after escaping possible death from a crazy king? Did that sound normal?

"No, Asa should sail in secret and decide to reveal who she is only after she starts trusting theese friends you speak of, Aster." Gramps explained to the foolish man. Aster probably understood, because he nodded and smiled widely before turning his head to her again. It seemed like he got an idea, Asa thought after seeing his bright expression.

"Then you could say that you are my co-worker, a humble village boy Rokain Asa!" The young man exclaimed. Asa was surprised for a moment. She had to pretend being a boy? It could be worse she supposed. But that didn't mean that she was thrilled with the idea pretending to be a man sailing with unknown men on the sea. And from where did he get the name? Rokain Asa. That sounded weird. It was good that Asa could be used as a both girls and boys name, so that her name didn't change completely.

All right, they had no time to lose. The water was already turning cold and Asa was aware of how the coat Aster has given her stuck to to her awkwardly. She was lucky to have no curves to hide, but she still felt uncomfortable in it. Both Gramps and Aster seemed to notice her discomfort and helped her out of the bathtub. Aster offered her a change of clothes he first had intended to bring for himself. Gramps also gave her some bandages, saying if she needed to wrap something. Asa blushed at this, because she really had nothing to wrap and hide. After both Gramps and Aster left the bathroom to give her some privacy Asa changed into the clothes Aster gave her.

The shirt was too big, and it resembled a potato sack. The brown trousers were good in length but still big. They had black suspenders that held them up. Lastly there was a dark blue cap that proved itself to also being too large for her head as it hid most of her forehead and left only her mouth visible. She had trouble seeing anything from under it. Asa sighed as she looked at her reflection. It was better than nothing.

She really resembled a skinny, pale lanky boy with no muscles, overgrown hair and a slightly androgynous face. Great.

After knocking both men walked inside to examine her as Aster chose to call it "transformation". "Hmmm." He seemed to be in deep thoughts and Asa would roll her eyes if this wasn't a more serious situation. "You look like a starved boy, with a girly face and no muscles."

Asa glared at him.

"But don't worry, they'll let you on-board. I've heard that they're short on men, they're desperate!" Aster laughed, but stopped after seeing the look Asa was giving him. "Look, girly no need to worry, Penguin is a childhood friend of mine and he sails under a powerful captain." Aster reassured her with confidence she didn't know he had. Asa wasn't sure if she wanted to sail on a boat with a powerful man like that. Wapol had power, and look how he chose to use it.

She was just about to ask Aster the name of the captain when a loud gunshot was heard. They had finally found Gramps. Asa didn't even have time to hug her mentor and promise him that she would find a way to rescue him when he was gone. Asa was terribly confused. She felt light. Like if she was carried.

And then she looked up, Aster's blond hair seemed to fly in the wind as he ran with incredible speed towards the harbour. "How can you run so fast?!" Asa screamed trough the wind as the land around them was just a blur passing by. Aster grinned probably pleased that Asa seemed impressed by his speed.

"I ate a devil fruit that allows me to move at inhuman speed." He answered while speeding up a bit, probably for showing off. That explained how he managed to carry her a three days long walk to their hiding place in such a short time. If just his brain would be just as fast.

He put her down on the ground. They were there, in the harbor. Where was the ship? The only thing Asa saw was a strange yellow colored thing. It wasn't like any boat or ship she has ever seen before. It wasn't made from wood and it didn't have any sails. Asa turned her head, confusion apparent in her eyes and looked at the man that carried her here. He grinned.

"It's a submarine." He explained to her. "It's a ship that can travel under the sea." Asa's eyes widened. A ship that traveled under water? Asa was strangely fascinated with her new form of transport. "And the captain?"

"The one and only Trafalgar Law."

After hearing that, her blood froze. She was going to conceal her gender and sail under a cruel pirate captain. Her life was doomed. And it was at this moment when Asa decided that life was bad.

_The poignancy of things  
A purple flower  
The blossoms of spring  
And the light snow of winter  
How they fall_

_The beauty of nature_  
_A green leaf and_  
_Autumn colours_

_The voice of the wind_  
_The song of birds_  
_A sad sea_  
_A joyful sea_  
_Mountains_  
_Pebbles_  
_A wild iris_

* * *

**AN: I hope that this wasn't too long. Any criticism is welcome. I would like to improve my writing as a student. Thank you.  
**

**The beautiful lyrics come from Enya's Sumiregusa. **


	2. She is a man

**_Mind the poison_**

**Chapter 2. She is a man**

* * *

Asa's blood froze when she heard the name Trafalgar Law. Who's blood wouldn't? She was after all supposed to sail under this man, live with his crew while pretending being a man. Asa never thought that she could get in any more trouble than she already had. The young woman saw that man's bounty, it was no joke. Almost a hundred million, that was something. Asa was powerfull, in her own way. But her plan of ditching the crew on the first Island just got cut short. It will be impossible to escape with a captian like that, Asa grimly thought.

Aster probably saw her sunken expression and tried lifting her mood. "Hey girlie, I already told you that the Heart pirates will take good care of you!" He tried reassuring her while patting her back. Her expression didn't change as she caught Aster's wrist in her hand. "How come you are familiar and on good terms with a pirate crew?!" Asa seethed with anger when she heard Aster's comment. How could he forget mentioning the fact that Asa would be sailing with deadly pirates?

"I thought that was obvious, I'm a former pirate." To say that Asa was suprised would be an understatement. How could somebody like Aster be a pirate? Aster was clumsy, not very bright and extremely childish to be a pirate in Asa's eyes. Looks could be decieving. It was not the time to dwell on that however, because Asa was sure that the soldiers that were after gramps were around the corner, ready to take her to Wapol who would gladly shoot her in front of her mentor. She quickly walked with Aster following her and stopped right in front of the yellow vessel. The whole concept with a ship travelling under water was still unknown to her.

"Where is that friend of yours?" The irritated woman asked Aster who only smiled in response. He annoyed her with his actions to no end. Asa was never a very patient person when dealing with other people. Especially men like Aster knew how to press her buttons. And speak of the devil, A male was soon present on the deck. He didn't look like Asa had imagined him at all. Aster's friend was an avarage tall male who wore a hideous white overall with a the same smiley symbol that was visible on the submarine. He wore a strange cap with the word ´Penguin´ written on it.

He grinned after seeing Aster and jumped down from the deck. Both he and Aster gave each other (what Asa recalled was a) manly hug and talked a bit with each other. She was frustrated with Aster and his complete ignoring of serious situations. The whole kingdom was after her and he was spending time by chatting with a friend. The young woman tried getting his attention by coughing a few times. Understanding seemed to flash finally in his eyes as he harkled himself and pointed towards her in an akward fashion.

"This is the guy I recommended to you. He's my co-worker in the harbour." Aster said to Penguin who looked at Asa critically. "He may not seem like a lot, but trust me that lad is smart." Aster finished his speech. Asa glared at him from under her large cap. She tried looking a bit manlier, crossing her arms in a defensive position.

Penguin was obviously unsure. "Hi, I'm Penguin." He at least decided to introduce himself. "I'm Rokain Asa." She replied desperately hoping that her voice wasn't too high for a male.

"How old are you, Asa-san?" The man examining her asked. "I'm nineteen." Asa replied, altering her age slightly. She was actually only eighteen, but her birthday was in three months.

"He's kinda shy." Aster decided to add quickly. Asa wanted to hide somewhere. He was only making it worse and worse with every comment.

"That's not true, I'm not shy at all!" Asa turned her head towards Aster glaring at him fiercely. After seeing this outburst from her, Penguin chuckled slightly. "All right, Rokain-san, I'll take you to our captian and he'll see what to do with you."

Asa almost fainted. Meeting Law? No thank you. But she had no choice and had to follow Penguin inside the submarine. Aster smiled the whole time, and she glared at him from under the gigantic hat. Asa had to push the annoying cap so that she could examine the interior of the vessel. It was quite plain, with halls and many doors. After multiple turns and going down the stairs they finally reached a door that looked like any other Asa had seen in the halls. Penguin knocked, or more like banked on the metal door and waited for an answer.

After a short amount of time a short "Come inside." was heard. The voice was deeper and smoother than Penguins. It was a voice that ordered. Asa knew immediately that the voice belonged to Trafalgar Law. It wasn't like she had imagined it. Perhaps he was a bit friendlier with his crew. The rumours about this particular captain were quite nasty. Asa was however not keen on spreading or listening to some gossip.

Penguin walked inside, but Asa made no move to follow him. She wanted to spend as little time as was possible in the presence of the cruel captian. The fact that she didn't even have her daggers with her unsettled her greatly. A poison master without poisons was like a fish on land. Asa didn't like the feeling of being this vulnerable. After what seemed to be a short conversation between Law and Penguin which consisted mostly of the pirate captian asking question and Penguin answering them Asa was let inside.

The room was brightly lit, pronouncing the whiteness of the waslls even more. Asa realized that this was probably captians personal bedroom after seeing the infamous nodachi in the corner of the room. The sword was huge and Asa wondered how Law could possibly manage to carry it around with him. There was also a big bed in the room with neatly tucked in bedsheets that were nice dark blue. At least five book shelves that were full with fat and heavy looking books took up the majority of the room. Asa's inner bookworm came to life after seeing such an amount of unread literature. She already dreamed of running her thingers trough the pages. Asa's daydreaming was interrupted when she heard the voice of her new captian adressing her.

"Rokain-san, I've been informed that you wished joining my crew." Trafalgar Law was just like Asa remembered him from the multiple bounty posters she has seen. He was tall, slim and tanned. Wearing a hoodie with the same desing as Penguin. He also had spotted jeans and a white furry hat with similar spots on it. What shocked Asa was the look on his face.

He was, for a better word at complete relax. With his long legs outstreched, and his feet planted on the table before him and his calm smile Law was very laid back. Asa didn't expect this at all. She didn't expect Law to be this good looking and carefree. She herself was a very serious individual who hated it when people were like this. Not taking anything seriously.

"Yes sir." The young woman replied knowing that being polite was her best option now. "And may I ask what made you choose my crew?" He asked, seemed to be completely bored with this whole event. His stormy grey eyes were half lidded, like he didn't care at all what she had to say to him. "I've heard that the crew was short on men." Asa decided on answering. After hearing her answer Law's smirk got wider, as if he knew that she was lying. "I hope that you are prepared for working hard, Rokain-ya." Law said with that wide smirk that made Asa's insides boil. Asa already greatly disliked her captian. But with that sentence, Law indicated that she was a member of the Heart pirates.

"Show him around Penguin-ya and give him the uniform." Law ordered his subordinate with a tone that left no room for arguing. "From now on, you will adress me as ´captian´ and follow my orders, understood Rokain-ya?" He asked Asa with a glint in his eyes that the woman couldn't decipher. Asa was usually good at reading people, but this man was a complete mystery to her. "Yes captian!" She answered briskly.

"We will submerge in about ten minutes, inform Bepo about the set course." The captian added to which Penguin immediately nodded with an "Aye, captian."

"You may leave now, I have work to do." Law said it in a tone that angered Asa even more. The first step in her plan has worked, she succesfully escaped this Island. Asa wanted to leave the crew as fast as possible, to avoid getting her gender revealed and past known. She was sure that Law would react hostily tpwards her once he figured out her secret. It was a dangerous game full of risks that she was playing.

To say the truth, Asa wasn't sure what to think about her new captian. Nobody ever managed to confuse her like this. At first he was completely calm, and spoke in a formal way. She soon learned that he was mocking her, and that the politeness was just an act. Of course it was an act. He's a pirate! Then he acted very serious all of the sudden. Ordering people around.

Asa decided that she would avoid this mysterious captian at all cost. Asa didn't like being confused, so it would be better for her if she learned quickly how things worked around here. She would observe Law and try to find a crack in that perfected mask of his. Asa was no newbie when it came to analyzing personalities. She was sure Law would loose that calm demeanor of his, and when he did she would learn his weakness. Yes, Asa decided smiling slightly when she learned her opponents weakness it was time to strike.

With theese thoughts she followed Penguin outside while answering with short answers to the questions that he gave her. He seemed to realize that Asa held no interest in talking as he grew quiet and only spoke when presenting her a room. Asa was still replaying the short conversation that she shared with Law in her head when thay walked trough the hall. Why did he smirk at her like that, with an interested glint in his eyes no less!? Asa was curious, too curious for her liking. Didn't she just tell herself that she would avoid Law? I will just observe him, she told herself reassuringly.

"That went better than I thought it would go, captian is quite tricky and suspicious when meeting a new member." Was the first thing Penguin said to her after leaving Law's room. Asa got the impression that even the crew was confused with their captians actions. She wasn't very suprised by this.

"This is the kitchen, Al is our cook." The cap wearing mechanic told her when showing Asa the room where her food would be prepared. The kitchen was normal in size, the multiple lamps providing it with light because the small round window didn't let much light seep in. It was a mess, with a sink full of dirty dishes. Asa was a very neat person and scrunched up her nose in disgust after seeing this. Penguin noticed this and grinned a bit. "If you are such a neat freak, why don't you take care of the dishes from now on?" He suggested, his grin broadening. It was obvious that he was using the fact that she was a new crew member against her, giving her no room to object."

Asa decided to not give him the satisfaction of seeing her explode and nodded, as in saying sure. He seemed pleased with her as he showed her the the next rooms without any remarks. They met some other members of the heart pirates and each of them introduced themselves to her. Bentley, the head medic was a serious looking man with curly hair and a yellow beanie, he seemed to dislike Asa immediately. Then there was Rell, a shorter man with a mustache that covered his whole mouth. Asa didn't really catch his profession. In short, she didn't remember their names or jobs. Asa introduced herself politely to every one of them.

Some of them sent her a few suspicious glances after seeing her small hand shook theirs or her higher voice, but said nothing. Asa was very glad and relief washed over her when nobody questioned her look. As Law ordered Penguin, he informed the navigator of the changed course who's name was as Asa recalled Bepo. To her great suprise Bepo was a polar bear. This crew was weirder and weirder the more time Asa spent on it.

She also soon met Shachi, another mechanic and Penguin's friend. He was about the same height as Penguin wearing the same overall as every other member did and had a red and blue cap similar to her own in style. He also wore sunglasses, and his hair was the same lenght as her own, only a brown shade instead of black. His nose was more prominent than Penguins. He shook her hand, and then grasped her wrist and examined her hand. Asa wanted to rip away her hand from his grip, but was suprised when she couldn't.

"Dude your hands are really girly, ya' know." Shachi commented with a teasing grin. After hearing this comment, Penguin laughed and joined in with teasing poor Asa. "And you're kinda short too, compared to everybody on the crew I mean." He added which made Shachi chuckle. It was true, Asa was at first proud of her taller than avarage height, but after seeing the heights of males on this ship she felt sort of intimidated. Both Shachi and Penguin were several inches taller than she was and with her skinny stature she stood out from the rest of men.

"Are you sure that you're cut out for this?" Shachi asked with a grin that made Asa want to punch him in the annoying face of his. She knew it would be a bad idea to let herself succumb to their teasing._ I'll not let something like this ruin my cover after everything I've done!_ Asa thought angrily. So she settled for the next best thing than an outburst.

"Are you sure that you can handle this, wearing that little pink cap of yours?" Asa asked, lifting her head a bit to show Shachi her satisfacted smirk and glinting brown eyes. He seemed to be taken aback. Asa wasn't sure if the reason was her comment or him seeing her amused face.

Reality came dawning on him as his face grew hotter and a small blush was present on his cheeks. "O..Oi! It's red not pink, are you colour blind or something?!" He stutterred trying to turn the tables with a very poor verbálne attack of his own.

"Probably you're the one who's colour blind if you wear sunglasses in this dark and dress in pink." Asa replied, her smirk streching wider after hearing Penguin laughing at what she said.

"Look, now your face is also pink, just like that cute cap of yours." The amused woman replied, knowing that was the last drop as Shachi made a move to punch her in anger before Penguin caught his arm shaking his head. "Shachi, I'm sure Asa here is a good guy when captian allowed him to become a member." It seemed that Penguin calmed down the angry man with his words as he was no longer shaking or making a move to land a hit on Asa.

"So, I've heard that some girls love theese girly guys." Penguin started a new topic when both Shachi and Asa walked down the corridoor with him towards the final stop of the submarine show off - the dorms.

Asa groaned ina annoyance as both males laughed. It seemed like their teasing would never stop.

* * *

After looking around the dorms, which consisted of many bunk beds and small shelves Asa claimed a bed of her own in the back in a corner. There were also three bathrooms at the back of the dorms. Both males snickered when they saw her expression after hearing that around ten males shared a bathroom and that they showered around twice or once a week. It depended on the heat, as Penguin put it. In the dorms she met another member, who's name was Fletcher and as she learned to know, was only a year older than her.

He would be twenty in about two months and was very friendly to her. He told her to not take the teasing too seriously as Penguin and Shachi were like this to everyone. That calmed her down a bit. Fletcher was taller than both Penguin and Shachi, and wore a teal coloured earflap hat. His hair was a lighter shade, reminding her a bit of home, where most inhabitants were blondes. He had a nice, calm personality and he was the only member Asa was sure of that she didn't dislike. Penguin and Shachi left her alone with him, Shachi claiming that he still had some things to care of and Penguin went to get her some clothes. She didn't feel as akward in Fletcher's presence as she did in theirs.

She learned that he also worked in the kitchen and helped Alfred who was their cook. That was good she supposed, seeing as she got the job of taking care of dirty dishes she could spend more time with Fletcher in the kitchen.

"Everybody calls him Al." He told her simply when she was asking him about the cook. He also told her a bit about how it worked on the submarine. "Captian hates it when somebody disobeys him, so make sure that you follow his orders well, if you do that you shouldn't have any problems."

Asa nodded again in understanding. Penguin returned shortly shoving some clothes and boots into her hands. He muttered something about him trying to find the smallest size. Asa thanked him and was preparing for the worst when she looked at the clothes Penguin gave her when showering in the bathroom. It was that hideous overall of course and a pair of equally ugly brown boots to match. She changed into the given clothes after double checking that the door was locked. The overall was too large for her, drowning her skinny frame in the fabric making her look even more lanky. She tucked in the long sleeves. She looked like she was wearing a sleeping bag. Asa sighed, it seemed like she would never find a nice pair of clothes.

Asa after seeing that the whole crew wore similar hats and caps she decided to keep the one Aster gave her. It was dark blue, and now after seeing the rest of her in the mirror, the cap seemed to suit her. Asa stared at her reflection and tried smiling. It looked like a grimace. She never paid much attention to her looks before. Gramps alwasy reminded her that in the end, being smart always mattered more than being pretty.

Her face was what people would call childlike and innocent. Heart shaped face, brown eyes, turned up nose and small freckles. It really looked like puberty was bad to her, seeing as it only blessed her with a growth spurt and no curves at all. In a way, Asa was glad for her unfeminime looks. No perverted men chased after her or tried flirting with her. Asa thought of gramps and her mood got instantly darker. Poor gramps, she would save him. She would surely come up with something. She always kept her promises. Asa tried smiling a second time. It resembled a smile more now.

Asa walked out from the bathroom and laid down on her bed. She was too tired to think about any plans on how to escape from this crew. Her whole body was tired after the amount of stress that she went trought the last two days. She prayed to the light gods and fell asleep with a picture of the northern sky light on her mind. Aurora Borealis. Her sky boat was already sailing out from the harbour. Asa wasn't sure if life was good or bad anymore.

* * *

**Well, that' all because I've been told that the previous chapter was too long. And I agree with that. Pease, review if you have any suggestions, reamrks or tips for me how to write. I hope that you weren't bored by reading this and I can tell you that Law will get way more interaction with Asa later in the story.  
**


	3. It's hard work

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or it's characters, I do however own my oc. **

* * *

**_Mind the Poison_**

**Chapter 3. It's hard work**

Asa was never a person who enjoyed socializing, or even being in the presence of other people. The young woman never had any friends and the only person she liked was gramps. Gramps who now could be somewhere half dead. Quickly trying to abandon thoughts like theese Asa looked around. She was in the Heart pirates kitchen, doing her job that she got herself into. Yesterday, during the tour around the submarine Asa showed her disgust when seeing the state the crew's kitchen was in. So, with great pleasure Penguin have her the task of washing all of the dishes.

Asa thought that her arms would fall off soon. After doing the amount of work that she was forced to do. She was used to working hard. She was used to being hungry, cold and exhausted. But this was even worse. Sweaty, wearing that ugly boiler suit Asa was smelly. And Asa hated the feeling of being this dirty. She hated the feeling of everybody stepping over her. Asa sighed.

As she was in the kitchen, finally alone Asa could think more freely without any interruptions. She woke up this morning around eight o'clock. That was too late for Asa's taste. She was used to waking up at five o'clock when she was with gramps. It was the best time to wake up in her way, she could read books for almost three hours. Asa loved reading, it was a shame that all books on this vessel were located in Law's room. And Asa was sure as hell, that she would never come there willingly.

She grit her teeth as she rubbed a particulary dirty plate. The whole crew seemed to take advantage of her being a new member. Asa could only nod to all of their orders while biting her tongue. It was against her nature, to let herelf be ordered around.

She had to clean the dorms, make every single damn bed. Next came the bathrooms. The sinks had to glimmer like diamonds as Shachi told her with a mocking smile. He still hasn't forgiven her their banter that happened yesterday when Asa insulted him. After the bathroom Asa had to mop the whole infirmary, wash every window. Each order was given by a diffrent member, it seemed like they had formed some sort of group who's only purpose was to make her life a living hell.

But Asa wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her snap. She was born for hard work. She was Anderrn's only apprentice. She wasn't afraid of getting her hands dirty. With new found confidience, Asa scrubbed the dirty plates even harder. Just they wait!

The whole crew was acting coldly towards her all of the sudden. Asa was sure that Shachi was behind it. He still could't get over the fact that she won their verbal fight the day before. If asa was proud of something, it was her talent in winning any type of verbal battle. She could twist words around, give sentences whole new meanings while toying and manipulating the words so that they were in her favor.

Oh, yes she definately enjoyed the witty conversations that she shared with gramps over cracking fire. Her inner bookworm was probably what caused such interest in words in her. Remembering the names of all 206 bones that could be found in the human body was like a memory game to her. Naming almost the whole list of known antidotes was a child's play. Yes, if it was anything Asa was confident in, it was her sharp mouth and good memory, Shachi was trying to win a loosing battle against her.

Asa only hoped that every day that would follow this one wouldn't be the same. Asa disliked being treated like some sort of slave. The woman sighed, she had more important things at matter right now. She had to come up with a plan on how to save gramps. It was easier said than done. It was obvious that the Heart pirates would not come to the Drum Islands in the near future. They were on the Grand line. Heading towards the New world. That was at least what every pirate wanted to do. FAnd find the legendary treasure - One Piece. Did Law plan on finding it? Did Law plan on being the next pirate king? Asa shuddred over the thought. Law's gigantic ego getting even bigger?

Before she knew it, Fletcher came to fetch her for dinner. Asa didn't have time to eat lunch, because of all the work that was thrown at her. When she heard the word dinner, the girls face split against her will into a gigantic grin. Fletcher noticed her expression of absolute euphoria and chuckled. She followed after the young man with a slight spring to her step. Fletcher was amused greatly by her behaviour and leaned in to tell her something.

"You know, between you and me. I think that it was Shachi who spread some nasty gossip around you and that's the only reason why everybody is like this towards you." He whispered, his eyes twinkling knowingly. "I think that we all know that Shachi is a sore loser." Asa replied smirking which only added to the cook's amusement.

"That's very true actually, Shachi has no luck with the ladies whatsoever." Fletcher added making Asa laugh. They both knew what he meant by this. Asa had a new way to insult Shachi and Fletcher had therefore gained a new form of amusement. Fletcher was alright, Asa supposed watching the young male that was walking beside her. He wasn't too loud and annoyiing like most of the Heart pirates were and he didn't treat her like his personal slave.

"I honestly don't care at all what the gossip Shachi decided to spread was about." Asa admitted, while Fletchers grin seemed to stretch wider. "That's a relief." He said finally. Asa didn't know what he meant by it and had no time to ask seeing as they were in the dining room already.

It looked like she and Fletcher were the last ones to arrive. The many voices seemed to blend into one big mass of noises. Asa could only catch small bits of many conversations that were shared betwen the crew members. She soon noticed Shachi and Penguin sitting with a group of other men who's names Asa didn't really bother with remembering. They talked about something, and they soon erupted into laughter. When she looked over at Shachi, the laughter seemed to get even louder. Bentley was again glaring at her again from under his yellow cap. In short, Asa wasn't feeling very welcome.

Their stares were following her as she walked past them quickly. The burning feeling on her neck. It took all of her willpower to not look around and smack them over their stupid little caps. Fletcher didn't follow her and Asa couldn't help but feel a little dissapointed.

She walked cleching her fists to an empty table in the corner and sat down, bending her head and crossing her arms over her chest. The blue cap that obscured her vision slid even lower on her face. Only her lips, formed in a thin line were now visible. Damn them! Bastards. Asa cursed them in her mind. Damn Shachi, Bentley, thoose stupid dishes that she still had to wash, damn that polar bear, damn this whole crew. But especially Law. Damn him!

Law saw the way his men treated her, but didn't make any move to stop them. He didn't say a word when Shachi gave her his job of cleaning the infirmary this morning in front of everybody. Her captain seemed to be quite enjoying seeing her working her butt off for the whole crew. He was even worse than Shachi!

Asa knew that she had to eat something, but her previous enthusiams to eat was gone with all the glares that were sent her way. Tch! Like some glares will make me loose my appetite, Asa told herself fiercely while straightening her back. With her head now raised high, and her stride prideful.

Asa walked towards the cook Alfredo, or Al as everybody called him and took a plate of spaghetti for herself. As soon as she took a bite Asa wanted to thank the night spirits and gods of light. This food was delicious! It was no secret that Asa was underweight, her lanky arms and visible ribs were enough proof. She never had enough food for herself. Asa ate when she there was food. When it wasn't she just had to hope that the villagers gramps helped would bring a loaf of bread in graditude for his help. Gramps tried giving her his own share of food, but Asa would have none of it!

And now, when she had acces to delicious food like this, nothing would hoold her back from eating herself full like a pig. She went to the cook for another plate of the cooked pasta while feeling guilty over the fact that gramps was maybe starving in a cell. Asa tried blocking the dark thoughts that always seemed to enter her mind with something positive. The only thing that was positive right now was that she wasn't hungry anymore and that she could sleep soon. Oh, and the fact that her captian wasn't present during dinner managed to lift her mood as well.

Just as she was about to lift herself from her seat and finish her duty in the kitchen a voice was heard in the whole dining room. All of the previous talking was now gone and replaced with deadly silence. "We are going to emerge in a few minutes, there is a smaller marine ship near us." The tone of the voice, so authoritive could only be Law's. "Prepare for attack!" Penguin yelled followed by other battle cries coming from the men around him. Asa was always quick to react, but in complete honesty she wasn't expecting this at all. It seemed like most men here loved to fight. Even the bear, seemed to have a certain fighting spirit rising inside him.

With a full stomach and no weapons Asa wasn't sure if she wanted to join in with the attack of the marine ship. She knew that a situation like this would come sooner or later, but now?! Asa was snapped out from her thinking when someone shouted at her. "Rokain, stop daydreaming and move your lazy ass already!" It was Bentley. Of course, Asa thought with a sweat drop.

The young woman maneuvered trought the mass of men running around doing heir jobs while she tried to desperately find a dagger, or any sort of sharp weapon that she could use. Her mind was blank, and all she could think of was to save herself. She somehow managed to bump into Fletcher. That was just the person she was searching for in hope to ask the location of the weapon storage.

"Please, tell me where you keep your weapons." Asa blurred out, but he didn't seem to notice her. His whole body was shaking and his skin was very pale. Asa raised her voice slightly. "Please, tell me where can I find a dagger!" But it was no use. Fletcher's eyes were wide open and his legs were shaking so much that Asa was afraid that he would fall. He was either poisoned with some sort of heavy muscle paralysis or he was absolutely afraid of something. Asa quickly decided on the latter after seeing that his pupils were normal.

Fletcher was having a panick attack. Asa knew the symptoms for these types of anxiety attacks very well. She quickly took his cold hand in her own and tried to drag him away from the noise that was coming from outside. The attack has started and Asa had no clue on what to do with the trembling man beside her. She tried to speak to him in a soft voice and shake his arm gently. When none of it worked and his breathing was growing even more irregular coming in short gasps for air Asa acted quickly. She knew where Law's room was. She knew that he was a doctor who had acces to to all sort of medial treatment tools. Such as some sort of drugs.

She saw it in his room. In a glass cabinet in the corner, just right over his working table. Ther in the cabinet she has seen them. Benzodiazepines, or often called BZD only. Anti-anxiety drugs, also known as tranquilizers, are medications that relieve anxiety by slowing down the central nervous system. Psychoactive drugs that are usefull sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics and they relaxed muscles as well. They acted almost immediately and where therefore used as anti anxiety medicine.

Acting quick was the key in this sort of situations. Many people tended to underestimate panick attacks. She didn't have a clue about what could have triggered this sort of extreme reaction from Fletcher, but she could think about it later. She saw his blue glinting eyes, remininding her of gramps. What would gramps do in her place? It was no use convincing herself otherwise. Asa knew that Gramps would without a doubt go and retrieve Alprazolam or something similar and help his patient. Was Fletcher her friend?

Yes, Asa decided in a second. Fletcher was her friend and she would help him. Now.

Asa ran to Law's room completely ignoring the rule to knock before entering and stormed inside. Her brown eyes were frantically darting around the room until they spotted the glass cabinet. Asa immediately noticed the desired medicine and grabbed it. Aprazolam otherwise known as Xanax was the best option right now.

Just when Asa was about to run out from the door, a tanned arm stopped her roughly in the hall. Her heart stopped for a moment. No.

"Just what do you think that you're doing, Rokain-ya?" The voice was even deeper than before. And it was much, much angrier.

* * *

**AN: So, people what do you think? I have to say, I have no experience in writing Asa's medical thoughts. I am terribly afraid of doctors, hospitals and needles. Do I need to say more? I was quite nervous when I was writing this chapter. At first I was really unsure with the way it was progressing so I deleted it and started again with a blank page. **

**Yeah, I should sort this story out. I have the big events and major plot turns in my mind, but it feels like Asa is a diffrent character in each chapter. What do you think? How can I improve my writing, Asa's personality? Are any characters ooc? I think they are. Law is quite difficult to write. I feel so bad for messing him up. ****Reviews are my sunshine and cookies. **

**And as always, ****_any suggestions, remarks and critism is/are welcome. _**

**I also wanted to apologize for the extremely short chapter. I (as some of you may know) am moving to a diffrent country. Yay. And starting a new school. Yay. And I will have no internet connection. Yay. So this update was sort of a last moment thing I decided on seeing as I've got so many reviews. ****_Seriously, you guys rock! _**


	4. The calm before the storm

_**Mind the Poison**_

**Chapter 4. The calm before the storm.**

_theme : Hello Beastie from Pirates of the Caribbean._

_I know, that's really cheesy, but that's what I listened to while writing the first part of the story._

* * *

No. Just no. Luck seemed to always ditch her in theese tough situations. Law's tanned hand gripped her shoulder painfully. This was the first time Asa found herself feeling very nervous. The letters D,E,A,T and H tattooed in black ink unnerved her even more. They promised suffering on her part. Asa understood now. She was afraid of Law. There was something about this man that just screamed at her instincts to run and hide away from his gaze.

Asa understood that the way Law looked at her, the way he spoke and even the way he walked were signs of him being a predator. A predator that enjoyed the sick game of cat and mouse. A predator that made his prey beg for mercy before killing it just for fun. Asa understood that perfectly.

She was used to feeling pain. She was used to being afraid. But, if it was one thing Asa wasn't used to it was being ordered around. Asa's eyes narrowed, she was wrong. Her captian was a monster with a perfect mask that fooled naïve people. She knew that he was like a lying monster that gramps used to tell her stories about.

A lying monster was by far the worst monster. Cunning and twisted, it knew a way to sneak into your heart and devour it within seconds. Until your heart was dry, black and it lost it's meaning. No longer beating. Law was like that monster. And how come Asa knew it? She was that monster sometimes. Sometimes when poisoning was far more enjoyable than it was supposed to be. Sometimes when thoughts of slicing her dagger across someone's neck seemed to follow her. Sometimes Asa was just like a monster herself.

And from this Asa understood that she was a predator. And Law would not fool her like he fooled everybody around him. She wouldn't allow him to pull her strings and manipulate her. She was a predator like him. She would be the one to see him break. It was happening again. The monster in her seemed to come alive when she was alone. Without gramps who could pat her head and tell her it was a bad dream.

But this wasn't a bad dream. It was bad reality. Asa narrowed her eyes. Law never knew what he has gotten himself into.

"I asked you a question, Rokain-ya." His menacing tone broke the endless silence that lingered between them. Asa tilted her head, meeting thoose grey eyes with her own brown ones. His eyes were dark, and filled with something she couldn't place. They reminded her of the silence before a huge storm. Promising pain as always. It was no suprise to her that Law disliked it when somebody was ignoring him. He was an arrogant man after all.

Instead of answering him, Asa showed the small bottle she was carrying. Aprazolam. Law's eyes were directed on her still.

"And what were you planning on doing with anti anxiety drug, if I may ask Rokain-ya?" The fake politeness. She hated it when Law used this tone with her. She already saw trough it, so why bother with it?

"Fletcher is having a panick attack!" She had to say it. Law wasn't suprised. In fact he seemed to be bored by her statement. Like he hoped that her response was different. Asa decided to play safe for now. No time to loose with her prey. Law had to show a sign of weakness sooner or later. And she would be there to catch it.

"Fletcher-ya's anxiety attacks are well known here in the infirmary. They come almost everytime there is blood present. That's why he's a simple cook." Law explained to her, his tone getting more bored and lazier with every word. Asa couldn't believe his words. Law really was a monster. Just like the one gramps told her about. Lying and heartless monsters.

"If you knew, why didn't you do anything to help him!" Asa burst out, unable to contain her anger anymore. She was soon stopped. There was a painfull pressure on her neck. Law's hand was crushing her windpipe. That bastard! Asa could only curse her captian in her mind as she stared into his eyes.

The calm before the storm.

"You will listen now, Rokain-ya." Law spat her name out. The anger made his eyes appear even more dark. It was like hurricane was present in thoose orbs. "You broke several rules and blatantly ignored my orders." He stated, his grip on her neck growing tighter with every cold word he directed at her.

"This will never happen again." He said. His voice firm, cold and deadly calm. The anger was gone.

There was no point in adding any threats. Both of them knew what he was capable of. The surgeon of death dropped his hand from her neck. Asa gasped for air. She was sure now.

"I was more interested in how come you knew what Fletcher's condition was and how you knew the use of Aprazolam." Law commented, his tone no longer threatening like it was mere moments ago. He seemed to harbour no guilt for almost choking her. It was almost like was talking about the weather.

Asa was at a loss for words. Damn him, she has again underestimated him. It was that moment when Asa understood two other, very important facts.

One, she hated Trafalgar Law, her captian with every beat of her heart. And second, she realized that it would take much more than a bit knowledge to beat Law at his game.

Asa was never so determined before. Law was the biggest puzzle yet. The most difficult riddle she could ever imagine. He was a paradox. A complete mess. And she would be the one to solve him. She would be the one to see him as he was. Without any masks, burned down to the very core of his being. She would be the one to use her own inner monster and find out just who this man was.

Secrets were her life, lies her face and curiosity her heart.

She was a woman who pretended being a man. She was a girl that knew more types of poisons than the most skilled assasin. She was now Law's possible death. And in her eyes, that was everything she needed in order to beat him. She tilted her blue cap upwards, showing Law a glimpse of her face. The game could begin.

* * *

Almost two weeks went by. Asa was now working in the infirmary, on Law's orders. Bentley who was the head medic was perhaps even more annoying that Shachi. The man used every moment given trying to embarrass her, but with no avail. Asa didn't care at all about the other crew members at this point.

Her relationship with Fletcher was sort of awkward, because the young cook still felt bad for causing her trouble with Law. Asa reassured him that he had nothing to worry about, that it was Law's fault that he didn't help him with his panic attacks.

After hearing that from her Fletcher was even more embarrassed thinking that Asa felt pity for him.

The young woman sighed, she really was bad at socializing. Having something close to a friend for the first time in her life was a weird experience. The bullying from the rest of the crew got even worse after the stunt she pulled during the attack of the marine ship. Gossip spread like wildfire between the crew. Asa had a nagging suspicion that Shachi was the biggest male gossiper on the sub.

What was even worse was the fact that making her life a living hell wasn't enough and one day the crew decided that they would be mean to Fletcher as well.

The poor cook was too friendly in Asa's opinion and he didn't deserve Shachi's and Pell's ugly remarks everytime he walked into a room. Asa couldn't care less about what thoose idiots thought of her, but Fletcher wasn't as strong spirited as she was.

Pell was avarage. As avarage as a man could be. There was nothing special about him, maybe his only talent was being a major pain in the ass. His hair was a greyish shade. With his brown eyes, slightly tanned skin and a green beanie he sported the same look like the rest of the crew.

He was usually seen with Penguin and Shachi laughing at their stupid jokes. There were other members of the Heart pirates that either ignored Asa completely or only sometimes made some snide comments about her shorter stature or girly face. Asa grew used to theese types comments questioning her looks. She always replied with saying that she was still quite young and that she was sure that she would grow more masculine as time would go on.

However, the truth was very far from it. As the young woman started to eat more and more food in the dining room she started to gain weight. Asa never felt so healthy in her entity life.

Her ribs were no longer visible, and her face didn't look so gaunt anymore. Everytime she looked at her reflection in the mirror while cleaning the sinks in the bathroom she stared at her face a bit longer. Her skin felt a lot smoother, no longer dry and raspy. It was still pale, but her cheeks had a certain colour now.

Asa smiled while scrubbing the sinks in the bathroom for no real reason. She for once in her life felt a bit pretty. The poison expert never thought much about the adjective. Being pretty was probably one of her last worries in the Wapol kingdom. And now it was an even more stupid thought. What pirate cared about being pretty?!

It seemed like her delayed puberty finally kicked in. Asa swore it had the worst timing ever. Her curves that previously didn't exist were starting to grow. Asa was suddenly thankfull for the bandages gramps gave her. The boiler suit was also quite baggy, Asa could only hope that her newfound curves wouldn't develop anymore.

Her days spent in the infirmary were quite interesting, except for Bentley. He was like a stalker. Always trying to proove her wrong. Law after seeing that Asa indeed was quite skilled in the medical area ordered her to help Bentley in the infirmary daily. Her job consisted mostly of Bentley being bossy and telling her to do things that he was too lazy to do himself.

Being in the infirmary caused that Asa was By Law's side almost every minute of her life. She and Law didn't speak to each other at all. Asa hoped that it would stay that way a bit longer. This way, Law couldn't gain any information about her. Nor could she, but Asa was quite patient when it came to this game she has started with Law.

She couldn't afford to waste precious secrets any more. Law was good at this game and Asa had to watch out. His gaze seemed to travel where she went. When she let her emotionless mask slip once when Bentley was just too annoying his lips curved into a smirk.

Yes, Asa was aware of Law's penetrating gaze. She was sure that Law knew something was wrong with her. He never asked anything, his staring only made her nervous. That was probably his intention. To make her nervous. Well, Asa was doing a good job hiding it.

Days went by and Asa had still no club about how to find a way to rescue gramps or how to humilate her captian. Law was now even worse, his grey eyes always found her in the dining room. That bastard knew something. He certainly knew more that Asa would like to believe. He was smart, of course he understood that a lanky boy like her wouldn't join a pirate crew just out of the blue.

She tried to play stupid in the infirmary, purposefully handing him the wrong pills or papers. He noticed her act, but choose to not comment on it. He didn't say a word to her. Asa was suddenly not so sure. At first this quiet Law seemed to be much more easy to be around. How wrong she was, the silence turned out to be a torture on her part. He was enjoying the way her teeth grit everytime he looked at her with that damned smirk of his.

He was suspicious. He was about to find out. She had to do something. To throw him of his tracks and confused him. Yes, she had to act differently. From now on, she would a new player in their game.

She had to act more masculine. Because she grew up as a tomboy it shouldn't be too difficult right?

* * *

**AN: I wanted to apologize for the late update. I wrote this on my iPad seeing as I have no computer currently. As you know, I moved to a different country. It slower down my writing. To say the truth, this is the chapter I really am unsure about. Was Asa acting weirdly there? I thought so.**

**The next chapter should be funny. Asa will after all try to bemore manly. It may turn out to be her biggest fail so far. Please, suggest any funny scenarios you have in mind. I have one of my own. Also, would you like Fletcher having a bigger role? Because I felt like he was the star of the last chapter with his panick attack. Some backstory should explain it right? I'm really nervous right now. A new school and everything. Sorry for writing crap like this in the authors note right now. I'm just really confused with my life at this moment.**

**Anyways, please review. I read all of your reviews and they seriously make me smile. Also. I'm happy for every review I get. As always, remarks are very welcome. Thank you for reading this whole post. See you later!**


	5. Curiosity killed the cat

**_Mind the poison_**

**Chapter 5. Curiosity killed the cat**

story arc - Hibiscus village

_theme: House of circles by Mr. Gnome_

* * *

Asa's mind wandered again to her encounter with Law that happened almost two weeks ago. The dark haired woman underestimated him.

**Damn.**

That bastard was way more perceptive than she thought at first. His brows always scrunched up whenever she was around. Like if she was the source of his deep thoughts. She was good at reading people. He was even better, he already suspected her. It was possible that Law knew that she was hiding something from the very start.

She really underestimated him.

She had to change her behaviour, create a fake persona that could fool even somebody like him. Law was too of all she had erease any suspicion he may have. She had to act more manly from now on. Asa was a female who pretendinged being a male. She had to fool everybody on this damned crew.

The young woman smirked. She was born to fool people.

As it turned out, adapting a masculine behaviour was much harder than Asa thought. She started her plan by noticing the small gestures that men did. First trying to pin-point a male that could provide her with the most eye catching male gestures. She soon realized that every male on the crew held a certain air around them.

They all had something in common though, the male pride. Asa never thought that practically spying on grown men interact could be so entertaining and amusing. Really who could have thought that Penguin had a weird habit of collecting penguin themed stuff or that Shachi had a thing for tall women. It was such a nice change for Asa. She learned many secrets of the crew by just listening to conversations while she was working in the infirmary or mopping the deck.

The male pride was present everywhere. Asa noted with amusement that some men were like small kids, needed to get praised for every small accomplishment. She almost laughed when she saw the way Pell's chest puffed with pride everytime he was complimented.

This however caused that some unwelcome thoughts appeared in her mind. Male pride. Law was already too confident and prideful for his own good. The way he spoke, carried himself all screamed with arrogance at her. Was she supposed to behave like Law to seem more manly?

Pretending being arrogant didn't however look like a good idea to her. She was confident by nature so there seemed to be no point in acting arrogant. It would probably only deal more damage than she first intended, with Shachi being hostile to her already. No need to anger him further.

So what was she supposed to behave like? Play poker, drink booze and swear? No, she had to pick some other male characteristics that weren't too drastical.

Asa never was very feminime in the first place. The so called manly traits always angered her. Men were always percieved as strong, indepedent, logical and level headed By society. What did that make women? Weak, dependent, overly emotional and foolish? No, Asa herself sported more male characteristics after comparing theese ridiculous traits. And most pirates she met were sexist. Fools.

Asa decided to skip the psychological part. After all, she was always called a tomboy. What speaked more was body language. Indeed, Asa was a poison expert which was often viewed as an assassin. This was a misleading proffesion. Poison users were similar to assassins in many ways. Asa would however never listen to anybody giving her orders on who to kill. If she decided to kill somebody, she did it By her own choice. This made her even more dangerous from assassins in many ways. What was meant to say was that Asa's movements were feline like.

This was in her opinion a more feminime trait of hers. She always tried to be graceful, making no mistakes in her footwork. Gramps always told her that she looked like she was dancing when she was helping him treating pacients. Males moved with confidience, especially here in the Grand line.

The dark haired woman took it on herself to watch with one eye how the pirates moved. She later tried imitating their movements in the mirror early in the morning when she was sure that everybody was still asleep. Asa couldn't help, but feel incredibly silly doing what she was. Even if she hated to admit it, Law was definately the best example of a manly man she could find here.

Her captian seemed to have every the so called manly trait she listed in her head previously. The crew's doctor always seemed to be calm and collected in any situation. He was proud, too proud in her opinion. He hated orders given to him by others. His eyes always sparkled with cold amusement when he killed.

Asa tried telling herself otherwise, tried changing her mind. She couldn't. The poison expert was still afraid of Law. After the confrontation she had with him two weeks ago Asa was still recovering from the shock.

She told herself that she was a predator. That she would be in charge. Law was the hardest mystery that was impossible to crack. Asa thought that her acting differently may caught him off guard in the little game they played against each other.

Asa sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time this day. Being a woman pretendinged being a man was difficult.

She decided that the best option right now was to talk to a crew member she was comfortable with and ask right away how she was supposed to act. The only member she could ask something embarrassing as this was of course Fletcher.

There was a major problem though, She and Fletcher had currently a very strained relationship. They barely talked to each other after the incident that happened two weeks ago during the marine attack.

Fletcher was deeply humilated by her knowing his panic attacks and never looked into her eyes like he used to before. When she tried forming a conversation about the young cooks origin of such anxiety he fidgeted uncomfortably and always seemed to change the topic. Asa understood his reasons for secluding himself from her and building a protective wall around himself.

She had her own deep secrets as well. She started to question her choice in calling him a friend of hers. She never was good with forming any strong bonds with people, gramps being the only exception. Asa frowned. Gramps seemed to slip out of her mind the farther she sailed away from her him.

The submarine was a sturdy vessel. Living in it for half a month without her seeing land was starting to irritate her. This was the day luck seemed to finally be on her side. They were stopping for an island.

Law announced earlier this day that they would soon reach an island were they could restock food. Apparently they were short on cash so it was possible that Law had something planned for them already. Asa was never this bored in her entire life.

Her game with Law didn't progress at all. Her captian was locked inside his cabin the whole time. Even Bentley, the bossy medic seemed to falter with his annoying as he told Asa firmly that there was no work in the infirmary that she could do at this moment.

Asa never thought that she would want to see Law. But how else was she supposed to break him? She had no information on her captian. Shachi along with Pell had nothing to do. Even their teasing seemed to weaken as time progressed. It was no secret that the whole Crew was bored out of their mind. Asa was never very patient. She wanted something to happen finally.

It was time for her kitchen duty. Fletcher would be there so maybe she could work out at least something.

* * *

The Hibiscus Island was very small compared to the Drum Islands. Asa saw the flora that grew on the Island and was left breathless. It was true that she saw many tropical plants that were brought to her and gramps from smugglers. But when the young woman saw the endless palette of colours on this Island she left a tiny gasp escape her mouth.

The beauty of this sight could only be rivalled with the northern sky light. Fletcher stood beside her and looked also out of the tiny window in the kitchen. He chuckled when he saw her reaction and face palmed himself later in understanding.

"You've lived on that snow Island your whole life right?" The young cook's blue eyes widened slightly before his lips stretched themselves into a huge grin. "I myself come from a summer Island." He told her still grinning.

Asa smiled. This was turning out to be even better than she thought. Fletcher was acting like before. She looked at him.

"I never saw this many flowers. Look at their colours, like a rainbow!" Asa continued with babbling not caring about how silly she sounded. Fletcher was amused highly by her rant. He himself had nothing against the new member. The male took quite a liking towards the new medic.

Fletcher was never very confident and now when he saw his crew member Asa smile at him he felt something flutter in his chest. The confusion caused him many sleepless nights. And when Asa attempted helping him during one of his attacks only made him more confident in his choice.

The way Asa walked was different from any of the crew members. The way his voice was a lighter tone only made him more intriguided. Yes, and the way his crew members eyes were wide and his full lips looked so soft. He couldnt't stop himself but forming a crush on Rokain Asa.

It was one of his biggest secrets. He always wondered why he never felt such intense feelings when being near a female. He was afraid that his secret would come out eventually. That he desired males...

Fletcher was caught staring at Asa. She scrunched her eyebrows. Why was Fletcher acting this way? Embarrassed at being caught Fletcher coughed and muttered something untillegible before awkwardly turning his head. They both didn't speak a word to each other for some time. Asa because she was caught in deep thinking and Fletcher because he still was confused with his feelings towards the medic standing beside him.

If only he knew the truth...

* * *

As they stepped out of the vessel Asa was greeted with a wave of hot air. It was the weirdest feeling ever, being surrounding by hot dry air that already made her sweat uncomfortably.

Law didn't look affected by the heat at all as Asa noted with annoyance. Perhaps he was masking it very well. Bepo, the crew's navigator stood beside the dark doctor and held his nodachi in his large paws.

The poison expert never really had an opportunity to speak openly with the polar bear. He interested her greatly, the lonely fact that a bear willingly wore a boiler suit was astonishing. The surgeon of death spoke in his usual tone. With deadly calmness and authority. "The log pose should change in less than two days, until then we will restock our supplies." Asa hoped that she would get some free time to explore this island further.

"I have my own bussiness to attend now, Bentley-ya and Rokain-ya will take care of restocking medical necessities." Law said, directing his gaze towards Asa. His grey eyes stayed on her a bit longer, till he moved his head towards Shachi and Penguin.

He gave them a list of tasks needed to be done on the submarine while he was gone. Law gave his final order to the rest of the crew, telling them to restock on food. With one last glance directed her way, Law turned around and walked away with Bepo trailing after him.

The crew was left alone at the sandy beach commenting on the unfairness of the whole situation. "Captian is maybe going off with a cute girl while we are here left here to look after the engines!" Shachi complained loudly throwing his hands into the air. Penguin agreed nodding his head dramatically.

Such fools, Asa thought bitterly while her eyes were still left on the footprints that were left in the sand after her captian. If there was anything Asa was sure of then it was that Law was certainly not off to find female company on this floral island. She heard his comment about the crew having problems with money earlier to Bepo.

Was he trying to find a chest full of gold buried somewhere here? Asa couldn't help but snort at the ridiculous thought. She was again interrupted from her day dreaming with a loud yell from Bentley. It seemed he was back to his old bossy self again.

Asa directed her eyes to the direction Law walked of earlier once more. Curiousity would once be the death of her.

* * *

It had taken approximately fifteen minutes to distract Bentley enough so that he would forget her for a short moment. It was a difficult task, especially when it We were speaking of Bentley. The most stubnornborn man on the Grand line. The head medic talked constantly and Asa was forced to always answer with and enthusiastic 'yes' or 'no' depending on his questions. He was proud of being assigned with an important task as this one. Captian valued good people, as the annoying man put it. Asa could only shake her head in disbelief.

When the cashier at the local drugstore gave a ridiculous price on expectorants and Bentley was furiously trying to lower the price she managed to slip outside without him noticing.

The rest of the crew members were either scattered around the village or taking care of the sub. Asa walked as quickly as she could, hoping that nobody from the crew would notice her walking away. The village they were in was only a five minute walk from the beach. Asa liked the architecture in this village, the houses were small and painted in warm tones such as yellow and red. The many hibiscuses that grew here were the reason that this tropical Island was given it's name.

The young woman increased her pace to a jogging as she followed the footprints of her captian and the polar bear. Law's footprints were larger than her own. Asa had fairly large feet, a fact she was embarrassed with. Bepo's footprints resemembled gramps snowshoes in size. Asa knew that if she wanted to catch up with Law she had to run faster.

After running for a while and still not seeing her captian Asa frowned. What was wrong? She slowed down for a bit and rested her arms on her bent knees. The unfamiliar high temperature was making her dizzy. She wiped the layer of sweat that has formed on her forehead. This heat was more troublesome than she thought at first. She had to continue, Law was already too far. She had to catch up to him.

The young woman followed the path of footprints in the sand. The path she's been following took an unexpected turn towards the rainforest. Asa halted turning her gaze towards the thick mass of trees. Asa wasn't very happy about walking inside the unknown place. She had only a small needle with her, not any daggers. The tropical temperaure was making her tired and nobody knew of her location. Nobody would know were to search for her if she got lost.

Asa always liked exploring, something should be no different from her journeys in the Drum kingdom right? Nobody would hear her scream. Not that she would scream, Asa had too much príde for doing something so embarrassing. Curiosity got the best of her as always. Asa took her first step into the shadows, her eyes glinting with exitement. Like a cat she skilfully stalked after her prey.

Why did nobody tell her how curiosity killed the cat.

Yes, this could be the very death of her.

* * *

**AN: I'm really sorry for the extremely late update I had my hands full. Not so many people reviewed on the last chapter which was in my opinion a chapter that needed the most reviews seeing as I was very unsure about how I potrayed characters. Oh well, I wanted to thank you for reading this story. **

As always, voice (or more like write) your opinions. Any critism, remarks is/are welcome. I want to improve my writing.


	6. Life on fire

_**Mind the poison**_

**Chapter 6. Life on fire  
**

story arc: Hibiscus village

_theme: Raised by Wolves by U2_

* * *

Asa stepped inside the thick forest, her shadow following her reluctantly. She knew that she was risking. Asa was worried, but as always she managed to fight down the uncomfortable feeling building in her gut.

She knew that relying on ones feelings was unwanted in the field of killers. She had to rely on her mind. Not heart. She heard it so many times, that it was starting to get old. Asa always made sure to have a backup plan if something went wrong.

She didn't have one this time. A scary exception that could cost her own life. Asa smiled, she told herself that she didn't fear death so many times already. But it never got old.

Her steps were sporadic, always measured. The soles of her feet making no sound as she stalked forwards. Just like a predator. Asa's slender fingers gripped the small needle she usually carried around with her. It was a tiny weapon, it's size causing that people underestimated the damage it could inflict. Fools.

The thinner a weapon, the sharper it was. Her needles were deadly when combined with her poisons. By hitting a vulnerable spot Asa always killed swiftly and quietly. It was certainly an advantage in the battle field. Killing without a trace was a handy skill.

Her keen eyes taking in the unfamiliar surrounding. Asa's mind was spinning with the possibilities these lands could offer her. She was sure that with the right amount of determination she would find at least 30 new unknown poisons. The plants here were tropical with bright flowers.

The Hibiscus flowers were a nice touch to this Island, as Asa noted with a hint of a smile. She always liked colorful flowers such as these. Looks were so deceiving. The nicest flower was the most poisonous. How ironic.

The forest was so different from the ice wasteland Asa was living in. She could look around later, her priority now was to find Law. Spying on her captain was the most exiting and thrilling things you could imagine. Especially if we are talking about The surgeon of death. Asa loved the idea of her finding out something crucial.

It excited her greatly, doing something she wasn't allowed to. The way she felt when disobeying Law was amazing. It thrilled her to no end. Asa was always free-spirited. She was always curious. She never cared what the consequences for her actions might be. She acted in a spur of a moment, but still managed to have a plan clear in her head.

Her reckless actions always altered her plans slightly. And with every plan that succeeded the young woman felt lighter and lighter. Her accomplishments were what she lived for.

As gramps used to say, their envy is my praise.

The vegetation was growing thicker and thicker with every step Asa took. The air surrounding her was hot and heavy. It was foggy and Asa was starting to have trouble following the prints in the muddy ground.

It was more difficult to track Law down now. The foot prints were easy to decipher in the wet sand at the beach. Asa was lucky for having some experience with hunting. This was just like any game before. Her views on life never really changed. What a pity.

The leaves that brushed against her skin were damp and slick, leaving tiny droplets on her hands. She was still holding tightly on her needle. Her hands were sweaty. She felt warm and yet so cold at the same time.

Fog was interesting. It reminded her of smoke. Asa liked smoke. The young woman was however, quite afraid of fire. Fire was unfamiliar and dangerous. She only heard stories about how greedy the flames were.

The fog wasn't unpleasant, Asa actually quite liked its presence. It was however unwelcome now, when she needed to be as observant as she could be. The poison expert mentally counted how long it took her to follow this trail already. About 40 minutes. This was taking too long. How far did Law intend to wander of by himself?

This was very suspicious. She knew that Law liked to keep to himself, but withholding his plans from his own crew was a bit drastic. Asa understood his reasons, she herself enjoyed working on her own. But the way Law ordered her to do things, it disgusted her.

She was always so free, and now when there was somebody above her Asa felt restrained. She was used to being the one in charge of the situation, and now Law caught her off guard with his behavior.

But that was good. She would crack him eventually, and when she had him before her, every little secret stripped down from him, then would she be at her lightest.

And only when she won, did Asa feel good. Until then she could manage. She could pretend. Yes, there was no crime in a little game.

If only Asa knew that her own life was at stake this time. She held no regrets. Winning was always the only option. And Asa lived for winning.

Breathe in. He has to be near. Breathe out. Why isn't he here? Take another step. Nothing new. Her footsteps slowed down, until she completely stopped. Nobody was here.

Observe...think and act. Thoose were the three actions every hunter had to know. She would touch the edge of greatness when she would win this game with Law. Intuition and logic. Which should she choose? Head or heart. Why did she even ask herself?

Didn't know herself? No, Asa knew herself. It was the heart. The heart won once.

Asa turned around. She was alone in the forest. There was something wrong. The heart won twice.

The fog was too thick. There was no sound. Absolute silence. Something was indeed very, very wrong. Her heart won for the third time this time. It was sure now.

Something was wrong.

Her keen eyes darted around.

Damn.

Asa's hold on her needle tightened. She would fight anything dangerous. The whole world around her seemed to freeze. And only then did she hear it. The small whiny sound.

"Iimph"

Asa tried to pinpoint the sounds originator. The fog was now so thick that she had trouble seeing her own feet. The needle suddenly seemed silly, clutched in her shaky and sweaty hand.

"Immmpch." The whine was a but different. It was deeper. Asa's head turned. What was happening? _Head or heart? Choose the head or the heart!_

"Áaachmp..." The third sound was much louder. Asa realized, she was surrounded. _Choose, NOW!_

Asa didn't like this. She didn't like this at all. Being surrounded was bad. But not knowing who you were against was even worse.

Without realizing it her feet moved on their own, her hands waving frantically around her, trying to see trough the fog that obscured her view. The air was damp and too heavy. It felt like it was filling her lungs with lead. The unsettling noises were louder than before and much more frequent. Her feet moved automatically and her shaky breath was the only things she heard expect for the whines around her. _Please, choose._

"Iímpch" the sound startled Asa. It was just by her ear. Her head turned sharply, her eyes narrowed, trying to see the thing. She didn't see anything. And that scared her the most.

She felt something very cold and unfamiliar on her skin. It was even colder than the ice in Drum kingdom. It was too cold. And what was cold, was dead.

Dead. _Head or heart?_

It was dead. _Head or heart?_

For the first time in her entire life, Asa felt like screaming. She wanted to scream like it was her last breath that she drew. Which it probably was. She wanted to fight, kick claw and growl with the last ounce of her life. She wanted to rip the sounds apart with her poisons. She couldn't do anything of this. She was frozen in time. Frozen in fear. The coldness washing over her, making her feel death itself creeping towards her.

And Asa was sure. Her life was vanishing. It was disappearing with every beat of her weakened heart and with every whine the creatures made.

She couldn't choose. _Head or heart?_

"Mmmmrhgch." It sounded very pleased. Moaning with pleasure.

Somebody else pleasure was her death.

It was too late. It was so cold that it was almost warm. The small bubble of light was growing inside her, ready to burst at any moment. Asa wondered often about death. _No heart no head no life_

She never would have known that dying would be this empty. And it was this moment Asa felt meaningless. With no meaning to live, there is a reason for death.

It was so cold. Why did she always end up cold. We all will. _Why did you not choose yet?_

Asa didn't care anymore. Just make it stop, she pleaded in her mind. The bubble inside her was now erratic. Shaking and wild, full of life. Just like a small flame. Flame so cold that it was warm. And when there is fire there is life left. And when it is still life, there can be hope. _Heart._

Yes, hope. It was beautiful. Magnificent. Just like Gramps would have said. Magical. _I choose the heart. _

The needle tore flesh apart. Made the blood flow. Until she was on the sea of red. And Asa was like that sea. _The heart._

Her own blood staining the needle. The sharp pain prickling her arm was nothing compared to the sensation she felt. Pain woke her up.

Pain killed her coming death.

There was some hope left after all. _Her heart won the fourth time._

The needle was meant to kill, yet it saved her life by tearing her flesh. The pain she inflicted upon herself cracked the fear she felt. Asa never felt so meaningful in her entire life.

And let me tell you, once you realize just how meaningful you are your life changes.

Asa's life was saved. She understood that her life held power just like anybody else does. And she didn't give up like the last time. This was perhaps her most important day she lived trough. But we will never know.

Asa saw her own life this day. She saw it being sucked away. And she saw just how wild it was. How differently it looked than how she imagined that it would. Her life was meant to be composed, calm and sporadic. This wild flame was her life instead.

Maybe it meant something. Maybe not. But it was Asa that saw her own life, so she should know best. With having her own life back, nothing would stop her now. Only death like it always did eventually.

**Asa choose the heart for the first time.**

* * *

She didn't believe anymore. She probably knew. Asa ran, her feet carrying her away from the fog, that couldn't suddenly keep up with her. Her footsteps were lighter than ever before. Her breathing was deeper and the pain she felt was so raw. Pain felt too good to her now. In short, Asa never felt so alive.

She ran and ran. But she had to stop, because she finally saw him. Trafalgar Law. He was the same as Asa remembered him. He was the tall, arrogant man with a fur hat she knew. She guessed that feeling death and seeing life still didn't change her opinion about him.

That was quite funny, to Asa anyway.

But her captain wasn't alone. No, he was with Bepo of course. There was however another person present that caused Asa's interest to pique up immediately. Law was talking to a man.

The man that he was talking to was weird. Yes, it was very unusual for Asa to use the adjective weird to describe somebody. In fact, she was sure of that she never used that word before. But it was the perfect word to describe this man. If not the word creepy.

Because even if Asa hated to admit it, this man made her feel uneasy. His skin had a greyish tone. The man's limbs were long, his fingers very thin. He wore a trench coat, despite the tropical heat. The coat was torn, and looked like it was patched up far too many times to be a recognizable colour. He also sported long, dirty pants. Asa couldn't see his face, because his back was turned away from her.

His strange clothing choice was not the reason for Asa´s sudden wariness of this man. Something about his presence was unwelcome. His aura caused tiny shivers running down her spine. Everything was not as it seemed to be. Asa saw the way Law looked at the man. He was danger.

The young woman that escaped death already once this day was well hidden within the vegetation. She didn't want to risk anymore. Not after what happened. She would only observe them for now.

The man laughed, and Asa noted with amusement how Law's hand went to the hilt of his nodachi. He wasn't a patient man. Especially when dealing with fools.

Asa had no idea what they could be talking about. She would find out. With pleasure.

The corners of her mouth curved slightly. The woman's eyes were intense, mirroring her the sensation she felt inside. Yes, it was intense. Just like the fire she saw, her thirst for secrets was unmeasurable. Perhaps it could be called greed.

Asa never really cared. She could be called many things. Curiosity would always win within her.

The two men she so carefully watched were done speaking. Asa's observant eyes noted both their stances. The weird man's body was relaxed, his hand buried deep in the pockets of his torn coat.

Law's stance was anything but relaxed. Asa was quite surprised seeing this, she never saw her captian behaving this way before. It only made her already smug smirk wider. She observed the way his hands were gripping the hilt of his sword, the knuckles almost turning white from the pressure he put on the weapon. Law was serious. The smile that seemed to always be stretched on his face was now nowhere to be seen. Instead, his face was cold, and calculating.

Law was serious. And Asa knew, that if somebody who always was laid-back suddenly acted serious they had to be in trouble.

Asa's life consisted mainly of trouble, so it was no surprise when she gripped the sharp metal in her hand tighter and her eyes were bright with excitement. She already escaped her death. Why not tease it further?

For such a smart person, Asa's way of living was quite stupid.

* * *

**AN:  
**I apologize for the lack of update. The new school proved to be a bigger change than I thought at first. I am proud to say that I am adapting slowly to my new surrounding. Well, this was a difficult chapter to write. Also thank you for all your reviews, they make my heart shine. Not literally, that would be freaky of course.

Anyway, I wanted you guys to leave suggestion about Asa´s star sign or birth date. I was thinking about Scorpio with a strong Sagittarius influence. Leave any form of feedback, as you know I like next chapter should be more action filled. The things that happened in this story will be explained. Any uncleanness should be cleared eventually.


	7. I write trouble

**_Mind the Poison_**

**Chapter 7. I write trouble**

story arc: Hibiscus village

_theme: Rat race by Brody Dalle_

* * *

Asa watched the figure of her captain closely, not missing the small flexing in his muscles. The way his eyes burned with determination. The old man Law directed all of his cold rage on was standing a few feet away from her now, his back still turned. From the way his shoulders shook, the poison expert could tell that he was chuckling. The man was very confident in his abilities, if he openly mocked Law, Asa thought bitterly. The man must be a fool. A complete fool if he thinks that Law would let him live after the stunt he pulled just now.

Asa didn't hear the conversation that took place minutes ago between the two men, but she was sure of that it was not friendly. Her captain was ready to attack, and so was she. The atmosphere surrounding them was unmistakable. The air was again growing thick and foul, just like the air in the jungle. Asa almost shuddered. Unlike the last time, when she faced the mist on her own, Asa was not alone this time. Law also here. Asa never thought that Law would make her feel safe. In fact, she felt slightly sick for even admitting this. Law was still an arrogant and manipulative jerk, but for this moment Asa had to depend on him.

She was unarmed, save for the laughable needle clutched in her sweaty hand. Her arm was still bleeding slightly, even though Asa used up a bit of chest wrappings to slow down and stop the bleeding. She was still tired, and her earlier excitement for a fight left her abruptly. From her hiding spot in the thick vegetation Asa saw something that made her gut clench violently. The familiar mist was flowing steadily out, and the old man stood in the middle of the clearing his voice loud as he screamed.

It was unlike any scream Asa ever heard before. The man was shaking, his voice trembling and reaching another octave as his knees buckled and he fell down on the muddy ground. The big and patched up trench coat he wore caught Asa´s attention. It was moving. Something bubbly and full of energy was wobbling and fluttering under the thick fabric. As the bump from under the clothing grew bigger the man screamed louder and louder.

Law was firmly holding his nodachi, taking in the gruesome scene before him. The sound of ripped fabric directed Asa's gaze towards the man´s back again. What she saw made her freeze.

A hand grew out from the old man's back. His whole body was arched as another bodies limbs erupted from his skin. Multiple body parts grew out from the trench coat wearing man and soon, his own body was unrecognizable. The body parts moved on their own, letting out a clunking sound in the process. The sight completely revolted the young woman.

She was used to seeing ugly infections, missing limbs and other grotesque images from working in the infirmary. But this was on a different level. The body parts that erupted from the man´s own body were unnatural, twisted and beyond distinguishable. Their skin had the same greyish shade as the man they originated from. A sick thought crossed Asa' s mind. _Are they some type of parasites?  
_

Asa took a few deep breaths, as Gramps always instructed her to do when facing a problem. Her poison expert mode was on. She just had to follow the clear instructions her brain sent her and everything would be fine.

The first step when faced with a killing issue is staying calm at any cost. Everything will be fine. The next step is to notice your surrounding, make sure that you are away from the targets view and analyze the situation.

The man passed out, but the multiple limbs that crawled out of his own body were moving towards each other. Asa realized what they were about to do, and it seemed like Law also saw it coming as he raised his nodachi high and swung it towards the limbs. The big sword cut the body parts in half. That action didn't deal much damage, because the disgusting mass of limbs started to bubble again and attached itself on the passed out being that now only slightly resembled the man. The detached body parts slowly transformed into zombie like beings.

Law tried to attack them again, but as soon as his sword cut them up into pieces, the limbs let out the same clunking sound and re attached themselves. The room like sphere Law usually fought with was deemed useless in a fight with these zombie like beings. Asa herself had no special power like Law had, her direct attack strength was below average, seeing as she never fought in head on battles. The odds were against them.

Asa saw what happened to the man before them. He was consumed by the beings. As they tore his flesh they let out the sound that was embedded in Asa's memory now.

"Iímprchgg."

This was too much. The young woman´s stomach lurched and rose. Asa vomited on the forest ground. The sound was echoing in her head. She felt a few hot tears stream down her face, mixing with contents of her now empty stomach. She was disgusted with herself. The tears were still flowing freely out and nothing seemed to stop them. Her iron will crumpled with a single sound. Asa felt so pathetic. The young woman's body was trembling, her scrawny hands holding her ears, preventing any sound from entering them.

Asa's body rocked forwards and backwards slightly, her breathing irregular coming in short quick gasps. She was still crying, but no sound came out from her throat. The only proof were her tears.

Asa hated crying. She tried to push the sound out of her mind. But with every breath she seemed to hear it louder and louder. What would Gramps said if he saw her in her current state?

He always praised her, always complimented her on the calmness she emitted during chaotic situations. Where was the calmness now? The older poison expert would shake his head slowly, while laughing the ringing laugh of his. The laughter that sounded rusty, like an older machine that hasn't seen oil in a long time.

Gramps always compared himself to a bad working machine. "I used to be like a clock Asa, but now it seems like I forget my purpose with each day. I'm like a bad machine, one nice day I'll run out of fuel and I'm going to stop working."

She can take so much. The noises were always a part of us, and her fears would always find a way to emerge from the curves of her mind.

"Even the best machine will stop once it's purpose is outlived." He always added, chuckling while looking out of the window of their small hut.

Gramps also feared. And in Asa's eyes it made him more human than ever before. He was never afraid of death. He accepted it. As a poison expert he was able to give and take a life with a swift of his hand.

"Every machine and being will once find a greater version of itself, the next generation." His words were soaked in truth, but they still felt like knives in her heart.

She took on so much. But she always pushed herself past her limits. She could take a bit more damage. If Gramps didn't fear death, so wouldn't she.

"You are the fire that burns for me Asa."

Her mentors face calmed down the young woman. Her breath was still shaky, but no more tears were present. Good.

The words were in her head, they lifted her and made her feel lighter.

Asa closed her eyes. Took deep breaths. Clenched the needle. And then she understood.

It was so easy. Of course. Why didn´t she get it sooner? She was afraid.

Fear was the thing that these beings lived of. If she wasn't scared, they couldn't get her. With a big inhale of the air Asa shouted.

"I'm gonna burn you bastards to the ground!"

It was her turn to deal some damage.

To destroy.

The inner fire spiked at her words. The mist cleared. And Asa's mind was finally left alone.

The illusion was shattered and Asa felt like before. Her life was still with her, sparkling and on fire. She didn´t show any emotions on the outside as she ran towards Law, out of her hiding. There were no zombies present, her captain was frozen in place by the man before her. The old creep was the illusionist, who thought that he was so smart. Fool.

"Every being has a flaw, find it and strike it!"

Her yell surprised him, and with a very unmanly squeak he fell to the ground. Asa used the moment of surprise and tackled him. Suddenly, a force on her shoulder made Asa yelp out in pain. With a jerk, her body was moved off the man and close to another chest. Two cold orbs were staring at her. There was no smile on her captains face, as his grip on her shoulder only grew more aggressive. She was shoved backwards, and the poison expert could only watch in bewilderment as Law mercilessly cut the old man apart. Limb by limb was detached, and with a flick of the cruel surgeons fingers the limbs stuck together and formed a body again.

Asa inhaled sharply when she caught the look in Law's eyes. He was enjoying this. He pierced the man again and again, until his whole body was a mess. His screams only made his smirk broader. She turned her head away, she didn't want to see any more lurid images.

The man was left beheaded after Law was finished with him. His screams died out, as did the sparkling amusement in his eyes. He wasn't mocking Law any more. The surgeon of death effectively picked him apart, found the man's fears and made him beg for his own death. Anybody in her place would probably be terrified. Frozen in shock after everything they have seen.

Asa wasn't terrified. She wasn't even disgusted any more, after everything she went trough. She felt only very empty at the moment. During Law's torture, she learned important facts from the man her captain toyed with.

He was a user of the so called "dark magic of the Hibiscus Island". The information she gained interested Asa. The tortured man was brave enough to threaten Law. He told them about the power this Island held. And who was in charge of this power. The man served under a man named Lord Iriok. Law paid no attention to the dark threat and killed the man effortlessly.

Asa didn't believe in magic.

She was no longer sure what she believed in. Gramps who was a machine that lost it's purpose? The light spirit's never ending light? Death?

She was no machine like Gramps. She was no spirit. She wasn't even a man like she led people to believe. Asa wasn't aware of her life before she left her mentor in the Drum kingdom.

The young woman experienced things now on her own. She was presumed dead in her home. She was a machine at home. The sea she sailed on was almost endless and too deep for her blank eyes to capture. On the sea she was only a scrawny boy called Rokain Asa. Strangely, this felt more like home to Asa now.

She had to find a purpose without resembling a machine. She wasn't ready to die, not yet. She would surpass her mentor this way. She wouldn't accept defeat like he did, she wasn't a machine that could be shut down. No way in hell. Now she was Rokain Asa.

* * *

She was no fool. Yes, Asa was a bit reckless, impatient and too curious for her own good. But she was no fool. She knew that Law also had a boundary, a certain limit of patience that couldn't be overstepped. She just overstepped it. Greatly.

The young woman felt his chilling aura rolling out of him in heavy waves from behind her. Yes, Law was furious. And yes, she was in big trouble.

She didn't even have time to let out a gasp as something cold and quick sliced her midriff. The poison expert felt a strong force pulling at her lower body, and soon it was detached from her upper half. Her captain used his devil fruit powers on her.

Law cut her in half with his nodachi.

There was no blood, Asa had a vague idea about how Law's Ope-ope no mi worked. She has seen him using it mere minutes ago. The pain she felt was the stretchy one. The fact that her body defied the law's of gravity also managed to freak Asa out.

She glared at Law, who's face again resembled a mask. The dark haired woman knew that she wouldn't be left unpunished for her actions, but splitting her in half? Was that really necessary?

Asa thought that maybe toying with the illusionist would satisfy her captains sadistic nature. No such luck.

She was helpless in this state, completely at his mercy. But the Surgeon of Death never showed mercy. Asa knew this very well, so she closed her eyes and sank her head preparing for the pain that would soon overcome her.

The grip she held on her needle loosened, and with a small yielding flex of her fingers the thin metal dropped from her hand. Law noticed it.

The tall man saw the glinting metal drop out of his crews member hand and with a mere movement of his hand he caught it, making it flow in midair.

The needle flew towards Asa's bare forearms. It scraped the skin slightly, only teasing her.

But what happened next made Asa grit her teeth sharply. The metal dug into her skin, at Law's command it teared scars. The first one was just a line. A single red line.

Then came the next slice and after the second one came another. Asa lost count, the stinging was soon forgotten and she cleared her mind of the pain.

Pain was also like an illusion. The nerves in her body protested each time the thin metal sank into her skin. But Asa didn't let out a sound.

The dark haired woman saw with a sick realization that the scars Law gave her weren't just random placed on her arm. They had a certain pattern that was followed.

_I WO_

That was soon followed by

_I WON_

I won? Surely, Law wouldn't write this on her skin? Asa's confusion was soon cleared as she saw the needle lower again. Another slice, another sting and another scar that will forever be there.

_I WON'T_

There were many things Asa shouldn't have done. There were however, still plenty of them that she shouldn't do in the future. But try stopping a curious soul like her.

_I WON'T DIS_

The poison expert had a feeling that she knew what the needle was writing on her skin. She wasn't sure she wanted to know in the first place.

_I WON'T DISOB_

_I WON'T DISOBE_

_I WON'T DISOBEY_

But Asa would. It was simply in her nature.

_I WON'T DISOBEY_

But there was no use. Even when Law threatened her in a cruel way like this, Asa would have to disobey.

The very text he teared her skin with offended Asa greatly. She had her pride and her dignity. Law had no right. No way in hell.

**I WILL DISOBEY YOU!**

The message he gave her was clear. Don't mess with me.

But what Law didn't know was that Asa would mess with him. She would mess with him greatly. After all, she had to see him lose. And then, then she could write something else on her skin. To accompany Law's disobeying threat.

_I WON_

And Asa loved winning. No matter what the losses might be on her part. Sacrifices were needed, and Asa knew this far too well.

Just look at how her mentor ended. The stakes were higher than ever before. She was now free, but Law wanted her to remain loyal. She was never one to obey. Death never scared her anyway.

* * *

AN: So, yeah. The chapter update is late, I know. I'm sorry, but I have a lot to do now. During the holidays another chapter should be up. I also heard about Naruto ending. It made me really sad. (Btw, I'm a SasuSaku shipper) I also read Law's past and it had an impact on me. Now, I want you to guess why Law acted so fiercely towards Asa. Sure she disobeyed him (again) but scarring her like this. Tsk tsk tsk, Law is such a lady charmer.


	8. The tingle

_**Mind the Poison**_

**Chapter 8. The tingle**

story arc: Hibiscus village

_theme: Goodnight by Birthday massacre_

* * *

The brutally carved letters prickled her skin each time she glanced at her captains back. As they were walking trough the jungle, Asa's mind was spinning with uncomfortable thoughts. The cold fury pulsed trough her veins and made her see red for a while. Law went too far this time. What kind of captain was he even?

The intensity of her glare only grew steadier with each step they took. Law was now ignoring her and acting as if slicing open a crew mate was a normal way of dealing with people. Unacceptable. But Asa wasn't stupid and decided to keep her mouth shut, even when her sharp tongue was itching. Her captain was a jerk. And Asa somehow lost her prized calmness and patience when dealing with jerks.

The air was damp, but the fog wasn't as thick anymore. The wet leaves brushed against Asa's bare hands. The cold droplets slid across her irritated skin. Easing the stinging of the scars.

The only sound that could be heard was their steady footsteps. Asa's trained ears noticed the difference between hers and Law's footsteps. She was bored and this was a good way of keeping her mind occupied with something else. His footsteps were heavier than her own, not only in sound but also in purpose. Each step was measured, it's length the same as the previous one. In control. Steady and heavy.

_Typical for arrogant men. _Asa noted while rolling her eyes.

Her footsteps were soft and quiet. Like a feline, she stepped carefully each time. The tip of her shoe always analyzing the surface before lightly touching it. Every good killer moved this way. Assassins, hunters and poisons experts. You had the upper hand in battle, when the enemy can't hear you.

Her's were soft. His were rough.

Her feet never came in contact with anything that could give her away. Dry leaves and twigs were avoided smoothly. The young woman was after all taught her whole life on how to remain hidden from the eyes and ears.

_Like a shadow Asa_

Law's steps weren't as quiet as hers. It required many years of training until one's step were became almost inaudible to the human ear. So with each sturdy and mechanical step Asa closer analyzed her captain.

The way his wide shoulders flexed with his legs. 43 muscles are in the face. 200 muscles are used in only one step. The revising of medical facts kept her occupied for a while. Asa always liked the games she played with gramps While they were traveling. What does my little eye see? Her sharp eyes saw many things. The rain forest was full of details, hidden layers and unseen secrets. But there was no time for that now. Her eyes reluctantly drifted towards her captain's form that was in front of her.

Law's neck was exposed. Asa's step halted slightly, the wheels in her head turning wildly.

The neck was a vital point of the human body. One needle, a drop of Aconite and a well aimed hit was all it took for death. She had no needle now, but her bare hands could deal some damage too.

As a poison expert, Asa couldn't help but see some disturbing images when facing an opportunity like this. She continued walking, but the image of snapping Law's neck lingered on her mind. Could she do it?

Her gaze remained on the exposed flesh of her captain, and her hands were again itching with the unsettling sensation. Asa never thought that the idea of killing would raise such excitement within her. She fought the idea down, clenching her fists. She kept them away from his neck. Her nails dug into the soft skin of her palms, drawing blood.

With a frightened gasp the odd feeling was gone. The dark-haired woman was brought to reality when her captain turned around. She felt like she was shrinking under his grey eyes. Did he know what she was thinking just moments ago? Did he sense the killing intent rolling of her? Was he disgusted just as she was?

Law's stormy eyes raked over her tense shoulders, staying on the cruel sentence written in her own blood that was marring her arm. His gaze burned her very skin and made her gasps more frantic.

Would he kill her? Did he see the image of his broken neck reflected in her eyes?

Then the dark doctor's head tilted to the side, as if he was interested in observing her fear. Her shaking only intensified.

Why did his eyes leave fire burning on her skin?

And when Asa felt like she couldn't take the torture of his gaze anymore he smirked.

The corners of his lips curved into a haunting smirk, and his eyes darkened. Her breath hitched as she saw eyes drew her in like a magnet. A black hole. With such force and brutality. It was something so raw, so new and eyes bore into her own, and with that delicious, lazy and dark intent they drew her closer and closer. Deep gaze lowered again, taking in the way her body stopped listening to her and shook in fright. Or was it excitement?

She saw herself in his eyes. A little pathetic boy, trembling in fear. It made her throat even drier. The image of her shaking didn't leave her mind. She was so disgusted.

Asa shut her eyes, trying to calm her breathing when she felt his eyes on her body. What was Law doing to her? What the hell was wrong with her?

Why did it feel like he saw right trough her? When he looked over her figure, taking in all the imperfections, all the small ugly details. The bony shoulders, lanky legs, childish freckles, tangled hair.

He maybe even saw the soft curve of her almost non-existent breasts? Or the hint of feminine hips. What did he think now? Did he know?

_Please, oh please just let this be over finally. Oh light gods and spirits please, make this go away. _

She was a mess as she repeatedly begged every higher being that she knew of for help. But they showed her no mercy. She probably deserved this for toying with her life so many times. The poison expert was close to tears now.

It only got worse as she felt his form coming closer. He was so dark, so deep and so heavy. His aura left her breathless. _God, please help me..._

And then his voice, left her feeling so pathetic with herself. The rich deep and so cold waves rolling over her skin. Setting in the bad places.

"Rokain-ya, didn't I make myself clear when I told you what I do with liars?"

She didn't react. Asa was afraid of how feeble her voice would sound if she responded. Probably like a little whine. A tiny whimper that would only make that smirk deeper. _Please light spirits, anybody just make him go aw..._

"Look at me when I'm talking." The sound of his voice again, the rumble in his chest. He was amused.

Asa took a deep breath. The rules of swift killing flowing in her head. She opened her eyes and met his own in a dead lock. She already felt so weak.

"Good."

The growl that escaped her lips was met with a spark of intensity in her captain's eyes. He was too close for her comfort, his tall form leering over her in an intimidating fashion.

She could feel his breathing on her skin. He was so close.

Asa had to tilt her chin to look into his eyes.

Those storms eyes that now regarded her revealed face with interest. She could feel the wheels in his head spinning. The cold mind of his taking in and collecting the small facts and details of her features. His gaze travelled over her skin, took in each little freckle and eyelash. Did he figure it out?

And now, when Asa was so close to Law And could see his face clearly she felt more feminine than ever before. Comparing herself to a male seemed ridiculous in her mind right now.

His face was definitely something Asa would describe as manly, strong jaw, straight powerful features completely different from her own childish ones.

His hair was darker than her's. Raven. Spiky. This was the first time she has seen Law without his hat on. In a way, it increased the itch.

But his eyes, his eyes overwhelmed her. They were so sharp, cold and deep. They didn't resemble her own in any way. But they now glinted with something Asa knew very well. Fire. And Asa could recognize curiosity well.

The height difference made her feel so small compared to him.

She felt so helpless. So distressed. So weak.

Just as Law wanted her. The stare contest was only a way of mocking her. Asa knew it when she saw his broadening smirk. His lips. Asa's eyes widened.

The sharp tingling in her palms was back. The fire in her stomach trashed in delight.

Only this time, Asa didn't know what she wanted to do. If it was to wrap her arms around his neck and snap it in half. Or if she wanted to keep her hands there. Touch the hot, utterly hot skin.

Her lips opened slightly, leaving a small gap open for the air she gulped in. Her tiny gasp broke something. The hot feeling was gone for now.

With a last glance directed on her scars Law turned around. His back was straight and his footsteps were as sturdy and mechanical as before. As if nothing happened. But Asa saw it from the corner of her eyes. She saw the remains of a satisfied smirk. It didn't crease the tingling in her stomach.

Nor did it help with the itch in her hands.

It was at this moment that Asa realized two very important facts.

One: She almost killed Law

Two: She almost kissed Law

And she wasn't sure which one felt worse.

_Spirits, I really am going crazy._

The fire in body died. The ice was back. For now...

* * *

Asa didn't have to play any mind games after what happened nobody could blame her. Her body felt numb and cold, but warmed up each time her thoughts drifted to that smirk and burning eyes.

It seemed like messing up her body wasn't enough for him. For the second time that day Asa had to stifle an annoyed sigh from escaping. Why did everything she said sound have to so wrong?

So Law enjoyed messing with people's sanity.

_How comforting. _Asa's mind remarked dryly. She didn't dare to settle her eyes on him again. Not after her unnerving reactions. If she only knew that seeing Law's neck would trigger such intense feelings from her.

Deep hate.

Blood lust.

Or was it just lust?

Her head was hurting and the young woman felt to tired to argue with herself. So yes, what she felt for Law was some sort of twisted attraction.

_It's official, I'm screwed in the head.  
_

Asa flinched after the words echoed in her mind. She worked with the human body. It was her job to know all the possible reactions. She was supposed to be an expert.

So why did her own body betray her like this?

Asa remembered clearly the eerie way she felt after Law finally left her alone.

Breathless.

Heartbeat increased

Skin felt hot.

Skin was flushed.

Darkened eyes.

Empty headed.

_Oh, Light Spirits._

The medical, stone hard facts were there. They never lied. Everything pointed towards sexual arousal.

Asa never felt like fainting. Until now. The itch was coming back.

* * *

The beach looked the same. The soft sand still felt as silky and smooth as before. The salty air refreshed her thoughts with just a few inhales. The vibrant hibiscuses still swayed gently in the wind. It felt oddly out-of-place, such peacefulness.

As her eyes took in the scenery her mind was calmed down. In the distance a large figure could be seen. Asa squinted her eyes. The person or animal was coming closer and soon Asa could decipher by the large shape who it was.

The crew's navigator was running towards them in a comical fashion. If her mood had been different she probably would have laughed at the way Bepo ran. His paws had trouble with the sand, as his great weight always buried him in deep down.

"Captain, captain where were you?!"

The polar bear's concerned yelling tugged at her heart. He sounded genuinely worried.

So Law didn't tell him anything before he ditched him somewhere in the jungle.

_What a jerk._

Her captain's face didn't reflect even a seed of guilt as he regarded Bepo. He only walked past him, without a word. The poor polar bear opened his mouth and closed it again in bewilderment.

"I have something I want to say to the whole crew."

The bear flinched and nodded eagerly.

"Aye, captain!" His tone was again happy and carefree.

Law tossed him his nodachi and Bepo's large paws caught it with as she increased her speed to catch up with them did Bepo notice her.

He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening. "You!" He shouted, a paw pointing at her, his tone surprised and angry.

"Yes?"

Asa toyed with him on purpose. She really didn't feel like sharing the awkward incident between her and Law with the whole crew. Especially a crew that's full of idiots._  
_

"Wha..what are you doing here and why are you with captain I mean why aren't you in the village where you're supposed to be?"

The bear stammered, frowning.

"Let's go now!"

Asa swiftly avoided the subject of her absence and started running. She was relieved when she noticed that Bepo didn't dwell further, he was a very loyal member and after seeing that Law didn't wait for them he instantly increased his pace as well.

As they came to their submarine Asa already knew that the rest of the crew wouldn't let her disobeying slide by like Bepo did. The young woman heard the shouts of her fellow crew mates, and they weren't happy with the situation at loud protests only made her headache worse.

"Hey, Ass where the hell were you?"

"You think that because you're new you have some sort of privilege to screw up work?!"

They were loud and vulgar. Two things that Asa couldn't stand.

When the verbal assault on Asa was over the crew finally turned their attention towards their captain, who seemed to enjoy seeing Asa flinch each time she was scolded by Bentley.

The head medic was in a way offended by Asa's behavior. Sure, he knew how the crew talked about him from behind his back. About how stuck up he was. And he couldn't blame them, because really, even he had a feeling sometimes that he just went too far when scolding the frail boy. Rokain Asa was in his opinion a rude, but still a very sharp brat. He saw how the boy moved in the infirmary, like he belonged there. And it was becoming more difficult for Bentley to find reasons for which he could scold the young medic.

The brat was interesting. And the older man decided, that he would give him a try.

Fletcher was standing at the back of the crowd, his cap off, leaving his light hair free in the wind. He was only happy that Asa made it back.

The young cook was restocking on kitchen supplies when the medic rushed in into the kitchen and demanded answers from him. As Fletcher carefully listened to the red-faced man while polishing some plates he understood that Asa has disappeared. He was no longer calm and the hours that he waited for Asa to come back felt like days. The deep feeling in his stomach was gone, replaced by the well-known flutter that always was present when the young man was nearby.

Fletcher didn't tell anybody about how he felt. Because he himself wasn't sure about his feelings for the sharp crew mate. He only knew that Asa would save his life any day. And so would he.

"Will Rokain get punished?"

Asa didn't have to turn her head to know who uttered those words. Shachi was right behind her, and she could practically feel his malicious smile.

Shachi didn't know what triggered his deep disliking for their newest member. The boy was younger than him, thin to the point Shachi wondered if he the lad ever laid his eyes on a full plate. The good for nothing was also much shorter than the rest of the crew, barely grazing his chin. In a way, he pitied the brat. Who knew why he even joined them. Such a feather didn´t stand a chance against the harsh pirate world.

But the pity soon transformed into a deep grudge after seeing the scrawny brat acting as if he didn't give a shit. He had a sharp mouth and insulted people here and there without a second though. Who did the brat think he was? A newbie acting all high and mighty. It disgusted the mechanic. He remembers just how long it took for him to gain respect amongst the crew when he was new.

And this Rokain Asa acted as if he didn't give a single shit.

So the cap wielding mechanic watched the scene before him with curiosity. He knew that his captain hated liars and weaklings. Shachi's smile grew, because he was sure of that Rokain Asa was both of them. The brat was a weakling and a liar.

Law's eyes glinted as he diverted his gaze towards her gain. The unwelcome feeling again gripped Asa and she had to fist her knuckles again. The scars were hidden behind a thick layer of bandages. The same bandages she wrapped her chest with in the morning were now snugly fit across her left arm. The skin under them itched her and burned, but not because of the scars that tainted her skin.

If she now peeled of the bandages and showed the crew Law's work, what would their reaction be? If she told them she was a woman? Would they laugh? Feel sorry for her? Kill her?

Law's penetrating eyes were still on her, as if he was tempting her for an outburst. Like the one she had in the jungle. Did he also feel the same itch?

Did Law also feel the strange energy that was between them then? Maybe he also had thoughts about choking her to death. He already did it, almost.

"Rokain-ya won't disobey anymore."

The bold statement almost made her lash out. Almost.

"He is tame now, but as for punishment, I'll leave it to you."

Each word felt like a kick to her pride. The low growl vibrated in her chest and throat, but Asa didn't let it escape this time. Her reactions apparently entertained the surgeon greatly.

Asa knew what the hidden smirk meant, along with the dark glint in his eyes. He won this time, and both of them knew it very well. It only deepened the feeling she had since the afternoon. The itch grew steadier and the thoughts of her captain's neck under her hands lingered on her mind.

The scars were now hidden from their view. But the message still hung in the air.

_I WON'T DISOBEY_

But she already was. She was lying to the whole crew at this point. She was no man. Somehow, this made the itch more bearable.

* * *

**AN: **Yeah, this is it. Let me know what you thought as always. Criticism is welcome.


End file.
